


The Heart of the Wolf

by SPowell



Series: The Heat of the Wolf [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: BDSM, Bestiality, Bondage, Bonding, F/F, F/M, Knotting, M/M, Male Lactation, Mating, Mpreg, Multi, Non-Standard Genitalia, Omega!Merlin, Scenting, Spanking, Torture, Tying, Violence, alpha!arthur, dub-con, marking with urine, mentions of past incest, non-con, secondary character death, voyeurism-unintentional or otherwise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-31
Updated: 2013-10-13
Packaged: 2017-12-21 22:49:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 104
Words: 145,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/905872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SPowell/pseuds/SPowell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 2 in a series. The Pendragon Pack heads West to where Cenred's family owns a ranch in hopes to find a safe place to raise their pups.<br/>Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to Shine, BBC, and legend. I do not make any profit from this endeavor; it is solely for entertainment purposes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. En Route in Heat

**Author's Note:**

> Omg, here we go again. Are you ready?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For my original stories, including a wolf-shifter series called The River Wolf-Pack series (book 2 coming out in April), see my website.  
> http://rebeccajamesgayromance.wordpress.com

It is a well-known but little-understood fact about werewolves that those who have bonded with their true mates never age beyond the year that they mated. That does not mean, of course, that they’re immortal, but it is another nice perk for those lucky enough to find their destiny.

It is also true that, once bound, a true mate cannot live when the other dies. Knowing this, it is possible to refuse to mate a true mate once a were finds him or her, but it is rare for any were to choose to do so, for the pull of the bond is strong and almost impossible to ignore.

All werewolves hope to find their true mate someday, for all are said to have one somewhere. The truest and most blessed matches are the alpha/omega matches, most particularly ones such as Arthur’s and Merlin’s—where Arthur is leader of a centuries’ old pack.

Already, Arthur is well-respected in wolf-lore for his fighting prowess. Most recently, rumors have spread about how he killed his sister, the witch, in order to preserve his pack, and, for these reasons, the Pendragon pack is left to itself on its journey West, avoided by rogue packs in the area.

Merlin isn’t surprised when just into the second week of traveling, he goes into his heat. He’s been expecting it, and judging from the way that Arthur’s been rubbing himself against Merlin as they travel as wolves, Arthur’s noticed it, too.

Many of the teenagers allow the pups to trot beside them, helping to watch over them. When the group shifts to human form, as they sometimes do, the pups are carried in backpacks for a while. As Merlin begins to go into heat, the entire pack can’t help but notice, as their white wolf leader keeps pressing his nose under his mate’s tail. Finally Merlin races off into the woods, Arthur quickly giving chase, and Gwaine shifts and calls to break camp. The other wolves shift into human form and begin clearing a place for a fire.

“Let’s hope there’s a water source nearby,” Leon says, “This may take a while.” There’s a streak of black and then white through the trees and then a rolling blur of skin tone.

“Arthur!” Merlin’s shout dissolves into a groan.

Gwaine shakes his head and grins. “Nim needs a rest anyway, don’t you, luv?” He looks at his heavily-pregnant true-mate.

She nods, pushing her fingers into the small of her back.

Will’s pups have just begun shifting to human form and crawling around speedily on hands and knees. John, sturdy and pale, with red curls like his father, loves to stick as many leaves into his mouth as possible.

“John, gross,” Leon says, cleaning his baby’s mouth out. John points a pudgy finger at the bushes, and Leon glances over his shoulder to where distinct sounds of Merlin’s arse being pounded into the ground by their fearless pack leader can be heard.

“Erm, they’re playing.”

“Gods, Merlin…so slick…so tight…so hot!” Arthur moans as his pack go about their duties, trying to ignore them.

“Arthur, the knot! The knot! Oooft! That’s it! Gods, yessss!” Merlin sighs.

“That’s right, that feels good, doesn’t it? I always take care of you, my omega. Fill you up so good,” Arthur croons.

Leon catches Freya glancing at Percy and then quickly looking away, blushing brightly. Will sends Leon a look full of heat and meaning, and Leon glances about hastily for Clyde and Audrey.

“Son, come here,” he says when he finds Clyde. “Watch the pups for a moment.” He strides over to Will.   “Come, let’s, er, go look for water.” He drags his mate off into the woods.

“Oh, caveman, Leon!” Will snickers into his hand as Leon pulls him farther into the bushes.

“I can’t listen to Arthur fucking Merlin one more minute without having you,” Leon announces, dropping to his knees and lifting up Will’s loin cloth. Will immediately stops laughing when Leon takes Will’s cock into his mouth, sucking on it enthusiastically. Will falls back against a tree.

“Shit, Leon, have mercy…”

Leon hums contentedly before letting his mate’s cock slip past his wet lips and nudging the balls below with his nose. “Love how you taste.”

The sound of someone pissing nearby has Will looking over his shoulder. “Gods, there’s no privacy on this trip. Ah!” Leon takes Will’s balls in his mouth and sucks on them. “Leon, fuck!”

“That’s what I was just thinking.” Leon stands and turns Will around, pushing him over a log and baring his backside.

“There’s someone over there!” Will hisses.

Leon clearly doesn’t care. He slides inside, pushing hard before withdrawing and pushing in again. “Bliss, pure bliss,” he whispers into Will’s ear, kissing it. “I could live my entire life buried inside you.”

“Poet,” Will teases just as Leon pops his knot, and then Will’s jerking and coming on the log, breath hissing through his teeth as his cock scrapes on rough bark.

When they get back to where they’ve made camp, someone’s had the idea to put up a little flap of cloth for Arthur and Merlin to sleep behind, and Merlin goes there to nurse the pups while Arthur asks Leon if he found a stream.

“Uh, sorry, no luck in that direction.”

“Leon,” Gilli says, “there was one a little farther up that I saw when I went to piss. You must have missed it when you had your cock up your mate’s arse.”

“Shut up, Gilli,” Leon shoves the boy good-naturedly. “Just because your true-mate doesn’t have heats doesn’t mean you don’t do your share of fucking.”

“Will’s not even in heat right now,” Daegal laughs. “You’re just horny from traveling and not having anywhere to do it.”

“Aren’t you?” Will asks.

“Of course!” Daegal replies, smiling. “No help for it. I guess Gilli and I will have to sneak off, too, won’t we, Gil?”

“How do two betas do it, anyway?” Mordred asks, curious. “I mean, who’s the bottom?”

“That’s the great thing about being a beta,” Daegal replies, “we can both top and both bottom. Whatever we’re in the mood for.”

“As an omega, I don’t even have the urge to top,” Mordred replies.

“And I certainly don’t have the urge to bottom,” Cenred states, nipping at Mordred’s neck with his teeth. “But I’d certainly like to top you right now.”

“A-arthur…” Merlin’s breathless cry, along the fact that he’s shoving the pups in a basket and pushing them under the hanging cloth toward Mithian and George, who are closest to him, alerts everyone to the omega vixen’s next raging surge of heat. Arthur, having ventured away to the creek, scents Merlin’s pheromones and leaps over the low bushes, skidding to a halt and tumbling under the cloth. Everyone has a good view of the two men’s legs as Arthur mounts Merlin, and they can certainly hear the noises: grunts, wet squelching, whimpering, a little begging, growling, sighing, moaning, yelling…

Eyes move everywhere: to the sky, the ground, out in the distance; anywhere but to the thin cloth separating them from the mating couple.

Gilli and Daegal disappear into the dense woods nearby, followed by Gwaine and Nim. The teenagers, embarrassed, go off to explore a nearby foxhole. Clyde and Audrey play with the pups, accustomed to the sounds of intense copulating and not old enough to put much meaning to it yet.

Curious, George peeks around the cloth, but Mithian pulls him back. “George! Give them privacy!”

“I doubt they’d care right now if we all watched,” George tells her.

Mithian looks over her shoulder to where she can clearly see the outline of Arthur pushing into Merlin from behind. Her eyes meet George’s before she looks hurriedly away, blushing crimson.

“Mith,” George says, putting his hand on hers where it rests on the rock between them, but a shout in the distance causes them both to jump up with pups in the crook of one arm.

“What is it?” Arthur asks from behind the cloth, voice tight.

“I don’t know,” George hands the two pups he’s holding to Mithian. “Sounded like Sid.”  He heads that way.

“Gods, we’re tied…I can’t withdraw!” Arthur complains.

“Quit struggling, oh gods…Arthur, you don’t know what that does to me,” Merlin gasps.

Mithian, ears burning, begins loading all the pups in the basket. “Shift,” she tells John, who doesn’t much like his wolf form now that he knows what it’s like to be a boy. He drops the leaves he’s eating, though, and obediently turns into a russet-colored wolf pup. His sister, Higgy, whimpers, pushing her nose under his rump to hide while Asher tries to run toward the commotion.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Mithian says, grabbing him up.”Eira! Lamia! Help me with these pups!” Audrey and Clyde already have their hands full with the smallest ones.

“It’s like a population explosion,” Freya says, catching Vick before he can hide in the bushes. “Imagine what it will be like when Nim’s pups arrive!”

Daegal and Gilli come running from the other direction. “What was that shout?” Gilli asks, his mating bite appearing conspicuously gnawed on.

“George went to check it out,” Lamia tells him.

“I hope he’s all right,” Mithian says, brow furrowed.

“Odin went, too,” Bronwyn says. “No need to worry about your sweetheart.”

“Bronwyn!”

“It’s true!” Bronwyn teases. “You like George.”

“Here they come,” Eira announces.

“Who’s that with them?” Lamia asks.

“He’s awfully good-looking,” Bronwyn notes.

“Could someone please apprise me of the situation?” Arthur’s voice cuts in from behind the cloth.

“Oh, um, there’s a strange man with Sid, Odin, George, and the others,” Mithian tells him, averting her eyes from the thin, fairly pointless cloth and the still-tied figures behind it.

“Who is he? What does he look like?” Arthur struggles to tug himself free from his mate’s body, only managing to give them both a rush of ejaculate.

“Fuck!” Merlin cries hoarsely.

“The first time we have some stranger infiltrate our camp, and I’m tied to my omega!” Arthur growls in frustration.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Merlin snaps over his shoulder. “Next time I feel a surge of heat, I’ll get one of the other alphas to satisfy me!”

“You _will not_!” Arthur growls, grinding his knot in hard while biting down on Merlin’s neck until Merlin comes again. Then it’s all intense fucking and snarling, and Gwaine has to come take over with the stranger until Arthur’s knot goes down.


	2. Simon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I have many of my readers from Part 1--this is nice! <3  
> My vacation ends in a couple of days, so Part 2 will not be updating quite as quickly as Part 1. Also, I am supposed to churn out my Reel Merlin this month.  
> I really enjoy this little world I've created, though, and really didn't want to let them go. A series allows me to revisit them whenever I want!  
> Rather than do a cross-over, which I really don't like much, I've decided to stick with remaining Merlin characters and create some new ones of my own, the first of which is in this chapter.  
> Happy reading!

 

 

 

When Arthur and Merlin join the others, it’s dark and the moon is rising. The campfire blazes merrily, and since Arthur finds the stranger sitting with the rest of the pack eating venison and not tied up to a tree, he assumes that there’s nothing to worry about. Arthur can sense right away the man is an alpha, and he immediately takes a step to stand between him and Merlin.

“This is our Alpha, Arthur Pendragon,” Gwaine tells the stranger. “Alpha, this is Simon Hobart, from the Hobart pack. He has come to lead us the rest of the way to the ranch.”

Arthur accepts Simon’s deferential bow of the head and says, a little surprised, “By yourself?”

“I’m a loner,” Simon answers. “My aunt and uncle wanted to make certain you didn’t lose your way, knowing that you have a lot of new pups with you, so I offered to be your guide.”

Arthur nods his head. “That’s kind of you.”

“My pleasure,” Simon replies, taking a seat again and leaning back, resting against the log behind him. He is a fine looking man, and more than likely a good-looking wolf. He has raven black hair, eyes of an odd light green, and straight, white teeth that flash in the darkness when he smiles, as he does now. He’s broad shouldered with narrow waist and hips and long legs.  

Arthur looks to Merlin to see if his omega is admiring him, too. Merlin is indeed regarding the newcomer, although Arthur really can’t read his thoughts. Feeling jealous and more than a little possessive, Arthur pulls his omega close and leads him to sit with him by the fire.

“This is my true-mate, Merlin,” Arthur tells Simon, and Simon nods a proper greeting. Arthur crooks his elbow around Merlin’s neck, keeping him near. His omega is in heat, and Arthur does not like having a strange alpha in the vicinity. Even the alphas of his pack know enough not to sit close to Merlin when he’s in heat. Waves of warning fairly waft off Arthur, and there’s no way Simon _can’t_ feel it, yet, his demeanor is easy and casual. It puts Arthur off.

Gwaine seems to sense the tension in his leader, and attempts to break it. “Tell us about the ranch,” he invites, turning to Simon.

“Oh, yes,” Mithian says, clapping her hands together, “we’re dying to know all about it.”

Arthur catches George rolling his eyes at that, but notices that even he leans in a little to hear what Simon has to say.

As Simon launches into a description of the houses and the barns, Arthur sees Mithian and the other girls hanging on Simon’s every word. Even Will seems a bit enraptured until Leon pinches him on the leg. Arthur has to admit the newcomer has quite a bit of charisma, as well as good-looks, and his hand creeps farther up Merlin’s leg in a proprietary fashion.

Mordred soon stands, announcing that he’s going to go nurse the pups.

Merlin moves to rise, too. “I think our babies are probably also hungry,” he tells Arthur, when his mate moves to stop him.

When Arthur doesn’t remove his hand from Merlin’s arm, Merlin ducks his head closer and looks him in the eye.

“Come on, Arthur, I’m only going to be over there in our sleeping nest,” Merlin whispers with a smile. “But if it will make you feel better, you can piss all over me before I go.”

Arthur’s mouth drops open, startled. Merlin’s eyes twinkle merrily, a small smile playing about his lush lips, and Arthur pushes him away. “Off you go, smart arse.” He can hear Merlin’s laughter all the way to their sleeping nest.

The group continues to talk for a while longer, and Simon tells them a little about the town. Arthur finds that without Merlin nearby he’s able to relax and listen.

Simon paints ranch life in a way that sounds frankly alluring to Arthur’s ears, and the pack leader finds himself eager to see the wide open spaces where they’ll be free to run as wolves. When Merlin’s pheromone’s call to Arthur from across the camp, and all the alphas start sniffing the air, Arthur excuses himself, telling Gwaine to tamp down the fire.

He crawls in the nest of leaves and into Merlin’s waiting arms, their pups asleep in their basket beside them. All around are the sounds of the pack getting ready for bed. They kiss for a while, Merlin becoming more and more demanding as his heat rises, forcing Arthur’s alpha instincts to take him. Arthur enters Merlin, pushing upward into the dripping oven while rolling his mate to sit atop of him. Merlin’s trying to be quiet, Arthur can tell, but the alpha in Arthur wants everyone to know, particularly the new alpha in their midst, that Merlin is Arthur’s omega, and Arthur’s alone. He thrusts hard and relentlessly, hitting Merlin’s prostate every time.

“Who do you belong to, Merlin?” Arthur asks in Merlin’s ear as Merlin droops over him for a kiss.

“You, Arthur,” Merlin sighs.

“Say it,” Arthur demands.

“I belong to you,” Merlin answers.

“Again.”

“I belong to you!” Merlin cries out as Arthur’s knot bulges, pressing hard on Merlin’s prostate.

Arthur carefully moves Merlin’s leg, spinning him gradually on his cock, his aim for Merlin’s back to be at Arthur’s front. Merlin whimpers and gasps at the delicious feelings this endeavor evokes, and Arthur hears more than one beta jacking off in their nest nearby. He’s certain one of them is Gaius, but tries not to think about it.

When he has them positioned, they doze for a while until Arthur’s knot breaks and their orgasms awaken them, Merlin coming for the third time since they began.

Merlin lifts Arthur’s fingers, dripping with Merlin’s clear cum, to his mouth, sucking gently at the tips. “Always you, Arthur. It’ll always be you.” He presses Arthur’s hand beneath his cheek and goes to sleep until the next surge of heat awakens him, and Arthur’s heart expands in his chest until he feels it’s near bursting.

Several nests away, Freya pretends to sleep and listens to the sounds Percy is trying to mask next to her. His gasps, and that little groan…she feels her omega lubrication answering, but she’s scared. If she opens her eyes just a little bit, she can see it—his big, no _huge_ cock. Of course, Percy’s hand is huge, and it’s covering a lot of it, but the cock really is enormous and that bulge at the bottom of it—the knot---Freya just can’t imagine that being inside her, even though her body really tingles at the thought of it. She watches surreptitiously as the knot grows and Percy surrounds it with his palm, squeezing. She bites her lip. Sometime she will get up enough courage to ask him to let her touch it. Maybe. After what seems like forever—time they would be tied together if he were inside her---Percy lets out a stifled noise that makes Freya tingle between her legs and white fluid shoots from his cock. Freya is so stunned to see it that she forgets her eyes are supposed to be closed, and she watches, mesmerized, as it loops out onto Percy’s bare chest. When she comes back to herself and glances up, her wide eyes meet Percy’s. He gives her a gentle smile before wiping himself up. Freya should feel embarrassed, but she isn’t. And she doesn’t know why. They both snuggle down and go to sleep. Later, when Freya opens her eyes groggily after being awakened by an especially intense mutual orgasm from the leader’s nest, she finds that Percy’s arm is pressed against her breasts. She finds she rather likes the feeling of it through the thin modesty cloth, and she quickly falls back to sleep with a smile on her face.

~~~  
After two days rest at camp, which Arthur and Merlin spend sequestered in their nest riding out Merlin’s intense heat while the others hunt, play in the creek, take care of the pups, and generally seek out anything to do rather than be voyeurs to the passion going on, the group heads out again. Simon leads the pack down some trails that Arthur and Gwaine wouldn’t have seen otherwise, possibly cutting off weeks of travel. With autumn closing in, this is a good thing. Everyone wants to be situated at the ranch before the first snow fall.

They push themselves relentlessly, knowing that before long Nim will grow too large to walk far in one day.

On the fifth day, when they stop at a river to bathe, Simon tells them they should reach their destination within a week.

Nim immediately strips off her clothes and gets in the water, letting it take the weight off her limbs. Simon watches unabashedly until a growl from Gwaine draws his eyes away.

“Seriously,” Arthur tells the man, “you are going to find yourself in a fight one of these days if you don’t be careful how you act around other alpha’s omegas.”

Simon meets Arthur’s gaze with his strange marble-green eyes. “I suppose I haven’t been around many alpha/omega mated pairs.”

“Well, we’re quite protective over them,” Arthur states. “Keep your distance. It goes double when they’re in heat.”

Simon nods, looking out over the expanse of land before them. Already over the past day or so Arthur has seen the land flatten out considerably and the jagged mountains in the distance turn into rolling hills.

Arthur suddenly stiffens, spotting several figures miles off. “Are those wolves?”

Simon scents the air. “I know them. Some of the Freemont pack.”

“Friendly?” Arthur asks.

Simon nods.

Arthur gives a loud series of yipping calls to his pack to let them know it’s safe, before Simon lets out a greeting howl to the Freemont pack.

“They’ve been away a while. Perhaps they have news,” he tells Arthur while they await the other pack’s approach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone else crack up when you picture Arthur giving a series of yipping calls to his pack? *snickers*


	3. Visitors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, they'll get to the ranch soon. Next chapter, in fact.

It’s natural for omegas, particularly those with new pups, to ease into the background when new wolves are around, but Arthur’s learned that Merlin’s not the most natural of omegas. He’s curious about this pack that’s come to visit, and he wants to know what’s going on. Of course, Merlin comes to Arthur for his permission, submitting his neck as is appropriate, knowing full well that Arthur will give it to him. Arthur isn’t very happy about it, though. There are three alphas and five betas in this group of Freemonts who are on their way back to their home a few miles east of Hobart Ranch, and Arthur would rather his mate be as far away from them as possible.

“We’ve traveled east looking for omegas,” the lead alpha of the group tells Arthur, Simon, and Gwaine after introductions are made all around and the Freemonts have explained that they’d scented other wolves at camp and had come over the hill to investigate.

“Any luck?” Gwaine asks.

“Yes. The omegas aren’t treated very well in the eastern forests, and we found five eager to come with us.”

At that, Gwaine turns. Nimueh got out of the water as soon as Arthur raised the signal, going to stand with the rest of the pack. Gwaine calls to her, and she comes to join him. “This is my true-mate, Nimueh,” he says when she’s beside him.

“An honor,” the Freemont alpha, Boris, nods his head.

“Nim is also from the eastern forests,” Gwaine tells him. “We have two other omegas in our pack from there—Ewan and Bronwyn. It’s possible that they know your omegas.” Gwaine gives Arthur a questioning look.

Since Nim appears so excited at the prospect, Arthur replies, “perhaps you can bring them to the camp?”

Boris turns and speaks to the three betas in his group, who agree to go get the rest in their expedition. It’s decided that they all will accompany the Pendragons the rest of the way home.

Sophia comes to sit on the other side of Nim, holding fast to her hand. “Don’t get your hopes up too much, Nim,” she whispers. “I don’t want to see you disappointed if your sister isn’t among them.”

Nim nods, hand spread over her large belly. Ewan and Bronwyn come closer, eager to see if any of their friends are among the omegas in the Freemont group.

When they finally see the pack of wolves running toward them, one by one shifting into human form as they get close, Arthur watches Nim’s face change from hope to incredulous joy.

“Erynn!” She cries, struggling to get up from the rock she’s sitting upon. Erynn, younger than her sister and red-headed, opens her eyes wide in surprised joy and runs to Nim.

“Nim! I thought I’d never see you again!” Erynn hugs her tightly. Nim, laughing and crying at the same time, introduces Gwaine and Sophia.

“We’ll perhaps get to see one another sometimes now,” Nim says, glancing at Gwaine, who smiles at his mate indulgently.

“Your sister’s so pretty,” Sophia remarks to Nim later when they’re helping the others get their pups to bed. “Her skin’s so fair and eyes so light of blue. Did you see the way Simon was looking at her?”

“Yes,” Nim nods. “But he isn’t in Freemont pack, so he can’t mate her. It seems to me that Simon looks at everyone-- omega, beta, or alpha, no matter what pack.”

Sophia agrees. She watches Nim yawn. “Why don’t you make an early night of it? I know you’re tired. Would you like to go down to the river to wash before bed? Your swim got aborted by our visitors.”

Nim nods, and she and Sophia join hands, walking down the short path towards the river. They quickly undress and slip into the silky water. The rest of the group has moved off a ways to make their camps, and the two are alone.

“This feels divine,” Nim says. “It’s the only time I don’t feel huge. I really can’t wait to have these pups.”

Sophia laughs. “It won’t be long now.”

“I really don’t think I can manage to let Gwaine fuck me anymore before they’re born, Sophia. You’ll have to do it all.”

“Not really a hardship, Nim,” Sophia teases, kicking her feet and floating on her back, face toward the moon.

“I know, our mate is quite the sexy beast,” Nim chuckles. “But it really isn’t comfortable with pups squirming inside you, and Gwaine is so afraid of hurting me, he’s just too careful.” She swims over to sit on the soft sand of the bank, letting the water lap up over her naked skin. “You remember that shampoo Morgana used to make? I miss that.” She squeezes the water from her hair.

Sophia shudders. “Ugh. Don’t talk about her.”

“I may have a bottle of it somewhere in our things.”

“What about you?” Sophia asks, touching Nim’s leg. “Don’t you have needs in bed?”

“Oh, I’m horny as ever,” Nimueh replies with a chuckle, and as though to prove her words, the clouds move from the moon, revealing her nipples poking out provocatively, dark against her white skin. “More so, actually. Pregnancy seems to do that to a woman.”

Sophia crawls up to lie next to Nim, their bodies spread out on the sand. She rolls to her side and kisses Nim’s neck. “You’re really beautiful too, you know. More so than your sister, really.”

Nim smiles up at her. “Thank you. You’re beautiful, too.” She reaches up and runs a finger over one of Sophia’s round breasts, making her shiver.

Sophia leans down and whispers into Nimueh’s mouth. “Let me make you feel good.” She trails her fingers over the mound of Nim’s large stomach and downward into the thatch of dark hair between her legs, easing a finger in between. Nim eagerly spreads her legs, gasping a little into Sophia’s mouth, where her tongue seeks entrance. Deftly, Sophia finds the soft bud in Nim’s folds and twirls it between her fingers, dipping occasionally into the wetness beneath. Nim quickly responds, bucking her hips and whimpering, pulling Sophia closer and kissing her hungrily.

“Put your hand inside me,” Nim begs, and Sophia obeys, keeping her thumb on Sophia’s clit, massaging steadily until Nim comes with a breathy cry of release.

Afterward, Nim’s dark blue eyes begin to droop wearily.

“Tired, my love?” Sophia asks, planting a kiss to Nim’s wet head.

“I really am. I swear, Sophia, I’ve never been so tired in my life as I am these days.”

“It’s natural, I’m told,” Sophia replies, cupping her hands and washing Nim with the water around them.

“You’re so good to me,” Nim smiles, craning her neck when she thinks she sees someone moving off from the trees nearby. “I think Gwaine was watching us, the wanker.”

Sophia looks that way. “Wouldn’t surprise me in the least,” she says. “You know he likes to.” She kisses Nim before helping her up. “Let’s get you to bed.”

~~~

“Arthur,” Leon calls Arthur over to where he’s sitting with a few of the members of the Freemont pack, along with Gwaine.

Arthur walks over, a whimpering Arthur Jr. in his arms. The little white pup has had a bit of the colic lately and sometimes needs to be walked around a bit after nursing.

“Trevor here’s been telling me about a bloke he encountered a week back east of here. The way he describes him, he sounds like he could be Lance.”

Arthur looks to the beta named Trevor with immediate interest. “Was he with a woman?”

“No,” Trevor scratches his shaggy blond beard. “We were making camp, and he didn’t want to stop long, but he ate with us. Him being a beta and all alone, he didn’t seem much of a threat, though he appeared strong. He could’ve joined us if he’d wanted to, but he just wanted to have a good meal and move on. Said he had to kill his female companion.”

“What?” All three men from the Pendragon pack cry out.

“Had to kill her?” Leon asks. He looks at Arthur and Gwaine. “Do you think she was fatally wounded?”

“He said something about treachery and then pups,” Trevor tells them. “I remember thinking maybe she tricked him into getting her pregnant.”

“Oh, gods,” Arthur replies, putting it all together. He questions Trevor about Lance’s appearance, just to make sure.

“Do you think he’ll look for us?” Leon asks, when they feel positive it was really he.

“It didn’t sound like he was gonna look for anyone,” Trevor says.

“Arthur,” Gwaine begins, “it sounds as though Lance came to his senses. Couldn’t we…send someone to find him? He’ll die out there alone.”

“He only _came to his senses_ because he found out she was with pups from the Prime Alphas,” Arthur replies.

“But he didn’t have to kill her,” Gwaine reminds him. “He did the right thing in the end. And it doesn’t sound like he’s going to seek us out.”

“We decreed that Gwen had to die. Lance went against that decree,” Arthur argues, holding his pup close to his chest. “How can I allow him to come back?”

“Could he come back with stipulation? A punishment?” Leon suggests.

“Such as?” Arthur arches an eyebrow.

They all look at one another. The subject seems to be too difficult to decide. They all like Lance. They all feel for what he’s been through. They all agree that what he did was wrong. None of them want him to come to harm. None of them can come up with an answer.

They remain quiet until Arthur Jr. yawns widely and lets out a burp.

“That’s my cue to put this one to bed,” Arthur smiles. “Goodnight, everyone.” He walks away from the group.

“If I were to find this Lance person and get him to come back with me,” Simon suggests. “Do you think Arthur would accept him back into the  pack?”

“Why would you do that?” Leon asks, curious.

Simon shrugs. “Sounds like a challenge. I like challenges.”

“Your real challenge would probably be getting Lance to come with you,” Gwaine replies. “I don’t know about Arthur. He might, but then again, he might not.”

Simon leans back, thinking about it.


	4. Arrival at Hobart Ranch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *whispers* technically it's called bestiality, but I prefer not to think of it that way.  
> water sports? nahhh...let's call it "marking."

Merlin has just drifted off to sleep. The pups lay beside him in their basket, all except for Arthur Jr, who has the colic again and is being tended to by his father. Suddenly Merlin’s awakened by the singular sensation of something hot and liquid splashing onto his legs and chest. Just as he opens his eyes, he recognizes the smell of rich, potent alpha urine. Merlin jumps up with a gasp and stands staring at Arthur.

“You…You…You _peed_ on me!” Merlin accuses.

Arthur smirks. He’s placed Arthur Jr.’s sleeping form in the basket with his brother and sisters, and stands, cock in hand, looking rather satisfied with himself.

“Just marking you as mine,” Arthur replies.

“Gods, you are _infuriating_!” Merlin splutters, piss dripping from his hands, chest, and legs. “But perhaps you prefer your omega covered in your piss?” Fast as lightning, he makes a lunge for Arthur, kissing him squarely on the mouth, and Arthur takes a step back, Merlin still attached, wrinkling his nose in distaste. Pulling away, Arthur makes a run for it, jumping over nests of bodies, Merlin fast on his heels. Heads pop up, some laughing, some confused, as the two men go zig-zagging through the camp, Arthur heading straight for the river.

When he gets there, he dives in, Merlin right behind him, and they come up somewhere in the middle, laughing and sputtering, spitting water.

“Don’t you ever do that again!” Merlin tells Arthur, “or, I swear, I’ll pee in your mouth when your snoring.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Arthur says.

“Try me,” Merlin narrows his eyes. And then they’re kissing, molding their bodies together, Arthur paddling toward shallower water so he can stand, Merlin wrapped around him, Arthur buried inside him to the hilt, hands on Merlin’s smooth little arse, fingertips searching for where they’re joined.

“I love it when you do that,” Merlin says when he pulls his tongue back into his own mouth.

“What?” Arthur pants, thrusting upward.

“Touch my rim where your cock’s in me…umfph, yeah, _that_. Gods.”

“Like to feel where we’re joined,” Arthur admits, and Merlin just melts into Arthur at that, forgiving his alpha for pissing all over him only moments before and kissing him for all he’s worth. They really start moving then, Merlin using Arthur’s broad shoulders to pull himself up and then thrust back down, loving the little grunts he pulls from deep out of Arthur’s belly when he does. Arthur knots quickly, making Merlin come between their bodies with a shudder, Arthur’s mouth trailing kisses down Merlin’s neck. Tied, they move to the shore, and Arthur gently lays Merlin on his back, easing himself on top of him, kissing him just as hungrily as he did when they started.

Merlin’s heat hasn’t quite ended, but it’s ebbing. It isn’t the same as it was before he had pups. It’s a bit more controllable now that his body has figured out that it’s taking full advantage of mating and the fact that it can now have pups. Merlin breathes steadily in and out, enjoying the way Arthur thumbs over his nipples as he continues sweeping his tongue through Merlin’s mouth, making him crazy with love and need.

“I could fuck you all night,” Arthur says into Merlin’s mouth, and Merlin squeezes Arthur’s middle with his legs. He loves the way he’s so full of Arthur’s long, fat alpha cock at the moment; it’s like it takes up all the space inside of him. He feels Arthur shooting into him, hot alpha sperm, and watches as Arthur’s face transforms into blissful calm. He kisses Arthur’s jaw and ear, loving him more in that moment than he ever has before.

When Arthur is able to pull out, he rolls Merlin over on the shore, parting his legs with his knees and pulling open his arse cheeks with his thumbs. Merlin moans at the first swipe of Arthur’s warm tongue on his hole, licking off the excess sperm and omega slick. Arthur holds him open and continues licking, teasing the extra sensitive omega rim of his arse. Merlin cries out, coming again, his cock pressed against the sand. His legs are bent like a frog’s, obscenely, while Arthur eats his fill of him, one hand reaching underneath to fondle Merlin’s balls.

Merlin begins to whimper, it’s so good, especially when Arthur’s tongue sinks into him, wiggling like a worm. And then suddenly, Merlin feels that tongue elongate, and he realizes that Arthur’s shifted, and his long wolf tongue is lapping deep inside Merlin’s hole.

“Oh, gods, Arthur!” Merlin groans. “Fuck! That…feels so good.”

Wolf-Arthur’s hungry tongue licks into Merlin’s anus, going deeper than a human tongue could, lapping over Merlin’s prostate, making him squirm and cry out. Having Arthur do this in his wolf form is amazingly erotic, and Merlin’s crying with lust overload. Arthur’s wolf teeth nip at Merlin’s rim, sending incredible sensations throughout Merlin’s body, and wolf-Arthur’s making huffing noises while blowing hot breath against Merlin’s skin. Merlin’s had so many aftershock orgasms, his body’s like Jello, but it senses Arthur’s alpha testosterone and begins producing more omega slick, pushing Merlin into another surge of heat, in turn arousing Arthur further.

“Go ahead,” Merlin says, voice hoarse. He raises his arse in the air in invitation. “Do it!”

Arthur mounts him, huge, white, furry body covering Merlin’s back, wolf cock thrusting into him, in and out, in and out, in and out, and Merlin’s eyes roll backward, he’s so far gone. His cock drips onto the sand, exhausted, but he shivers out one last orgasm as wolf-Arthur knots him, pushing the bulge in.

Somehow Arthur manages to shift back while still tied, collapsing onto Merlin, and they move to their sides, Merlin’s back to Arthur’s front.

“I’m dead,” Merlin whispers, as Arthur pulls him close, their feet still in the water. “You’ll have to carry me back to camp.”

Arthur presses a kiss to Merlin’s shoulder. “I will, my love.”

They lie there a long time, and then Arthur makes good on his promise.

The following day is a long one, the weather so fair that the packs trek from dawn until dusk, when everyone collapses and falls asleep immediately. By lunchtime on the day after that, they finally approach Hobart Ranch from the forest, away from the town so no one will spot a large group of half-naked men and women entering the ranch. They take leave of the members of the Freemont Pack, who promise to meet with them as a whole later on.

Arthur and Merlin assume positions at the front of Pendragon pack, prepared to meet Cenred’s parents. Cenred, Mordred, and Simon stand with them, Gwaine and his mates behind them.

Two old, grey wolves come out of the large, detailed wrought iron gates that form the back entrance to the ranch, having scented their approach. They shift, and all the wolves of Pendragon pack shift, too.

“Greetings, Aunt and Uncle,” Simon makes the introductions. “I’ve returned with Cousin Cenred, his Alpha, and their pack.”

There’s a formality to the introduction where everyone is introduced according to status and age, but after that Cenred is enveloped in welcoming hugs by his parents, Mitzi and Pete. Mitzi, a grey-headed woman with sharp, lively eyes looks over Mordred with interest.

“So, this is your mate?” she asks.

“This is Mordred, my true-mate, Mother,” Cenred replies, his voice full of pride. Merlin never thought when he first met Cenred that he’d like him so much now, but he really does.

Mordred hands the basket of pups to Bronwyn and steps forward, seeming a little unsure, but a person would have to be blind not to see how much he loves Cenred, and that’s evidently enough for Cenred’s parents.

“Welcome, Mordred,” Mitzi says, pulling him close. “How lucky you two are to have found your true-mate! You will always be as handsome as you both are now.”

Mordred blushes. Pete pats him on the back, and then moves to embrace Cenred again.

“When Eunice took you with her, we were very unhappy,” Pete tells him. “I know there were issues, but you were not hers to take.”

“That’s all water under the bridge now,” Cendred replies, looking away.

“Maybe, but I don’t want you to think you weren’t wanted. We were so happy to hear from you a few months ago. We had no idea where you were all these years.”

Merlin wonders if this explains some of Cenred’s earlier behavior before Mordred’s love softened him up. Feeling unloved and unwanted might have made him bitter and resentful.

“I’m sure you would like a tour, but you look worn out,” Mitzi tells them. “And this poor girl looks ready to burst.” She eyes Nimueh, who tries to smile as she leans against Gwaine.

“A place to rest sounds wonderful,” Arthur replies.

“Burt!” Mitzi calls to an older man, who quickly comes over. “Show Alpha Arthur and his mate to their house. Silas! Come take this young man and his pregnant mate to a house.”

“Gwaine’s Arthur’s second,” Simon replies, “so he should get the place next door to Arthur.”

“All right,” Mitzi nods. “Simon, you help figure things like that out.  Egan, help him. We’ll have you all situated before you know it.” Egan, a tall, young man nods and goes with Simon.

Merlin is amazed at being in a place with a lot of furniture again.

“Arthur, we have a bed,” he says. “and a shower!”

“We’re going to have to wear clothes, too,” Arthur tells him, coming to stand behind him. “Simon tells me they have a special tailor that makes clothes that are easy to rip from their bodies when they need to shift quickly.”

Merlin sets the basket of pups down, and they all tumble out, stepping over one another in their hurry to get on the ground. He grabs some blankets out of a closet and throws them on the floor. “The first thing I’m going to do is feed them,” he announces before getting rid of his loin cloth and shifting. He lies down on the blankets, and the pups all come yipping toward him. Arthur smiles, divests himself of his cloth, and shifts himself, joining his family.

 

 

 

 


	5. Full Moon in the Thousand Acre Wood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this one's been hard to squeeze out, I don't know why. But I think I've broken through my writer's block. <3 Thanks to those who have checked in to Part 2! I enjoy hearing what you have to say.  
> For those of you who saw the accidental sneek peek of my paper legends fic...whoops!

 

 

The first week is a time of settling in. After their rest on the first day, Arthur’s pack is briefed about the few humans that work on the ranch. They are the men who work with the cattle, since cattle don’t take too kindly to the scent of werewolves. Evidently, horses don’t, either. The men, Joshua, Jason, and Jordan Brighton, know about the wolves and have an understanding with them. The Hobarts have always had members of the Brighton family working on their ranch, according to Mitzi and Pete, and they are to be trusted. Some say Brighton blood runs through the Hobart line.

Still, weres must be careful around humans, for they are weaker in many ways.

The ranch is large and backed up by one thousand acres of forest land. The first full moon comes only two days after the pack arrives, and the wolves are eager to run free. They’ve only just met the Hobart pack, but they’ve been told that, along with the Freemonts, they’re the only wolves that they’ll encounter and needn’t worry about enemies. To Arthur, it sounds too good to be true, but he takes Pete’s and Simon’s word for it; they have never had any trouble in all the years since the rival pacts moved off.

The adult wolves leave the pups with the younger children, Audrey and Clyde; and the older wolves, Gaius, Bart, Mitzi, and Pete. Nim also chooses to stay at home, feeling too heavy to run through the woods. Everyone else sets out into the dense forest, shifting to wolf form and running at top speed under the full moon, their werewolf genes coursing through their veins and making them feel almost half-drunk until the moon hits its zenith and the wolves their stride.

Merlin loves the way he feels when he’s like this, and he loves watching Arthur, his white wolf, so strong and handsome in the dark forest. Most of the pack stays together, running off their pent up energy before playing. Merlin’s coat is so black he can hide from his mate easily, and their game of hide and seek is easy for him to win.

Some of the weres copulate, although Merlin notices that happening more in the Freemont pack than the Pendragon pack; why, he isn’t sure. For the Pendragons, full moon is more of a time to exercise and play than to have sex, which they do a lot of anyway. Perhaps the Freemont group does things the other way round.

Along toward morning, when Arthur and Merlin run by themselves, Merlin spots a very large silver wolf speeding along to Arthur’s right. Unexpectedly, the wolf purposely careens into Arthur, knocking the white wolf sideways, forcing Arthur to right himself quickly and nudge the silver wolf back or risk knocking Merlin into a ravine. Arthur growls, and the silver wolf growls back, head lowering and shoulders rising, assuming an alpha stance that means ready to fight. Arthur turns and faces the silver wolf, mirroring its actions, his lip curling upward in a vicious snarl.

Merlin growls, ears flattening, unsure of the situation, but disliking the threat to his mate. Who is this wolf, and where the fuck did he come from all of the sudden? What happened to what Mitzi and Pete said about all the wolves being friendly around here?

A smaller omega with white markings appears behind the silver wolf, watching. Merlin thinks the omega might be with pups. The snarling and growling of the two alphas reaches a crescendo, and the silver wolf lunges at Arthur, who agilely jumps to the side. Merlin darts in and clamps down on the base of the silver wolf’s tail, eliciting an un-alpha-like squeal from its throat as it tries to flip around. Arthur takes the opportunity to grasp his attacker’s neck with his teeth.

The other omega sets to barking wildly, and before they know it, there’s a crowd of wolves shifting around them. Merlin, Arthur, and the alpha on the ground shift, too.

“What’s going on?” Simon asks, breathing hard, he and Gwaine reaching the scene at the same time.

Arthur and Merlin stand looking down at the large man lying flat on his back and glaring up at them with hatred in his eyes.

“They attacked me,” the man huffs.

“Oh, ho!” Arthur laughs bitterly. “That’s a good one! I’ll have to remember it the next time I tuck my pups into bed and need a good story!”

Simon presses forward. “Arthur, why would you attack Declan? Do you know he’s the alpha of the Freemont pack?”

The omega, a handsome, olive-skinned man, helps Declan off the forest floor, but Declan shuns his attentions.

“I don’t care if he’s king of the entire forest, he attacked _me_ , not the other way round!” Arthur says indignantly. “He slammed into me, and I had to right myself or risk hurting Merlin, and I was only warding him off after that.”

Declan looks over Arthur with disdain in his grey eyes. “Perhaps you would like to challenge me? Perhaps you think you could take over the Hobart pack and mine, too?”

Arthur lifts up his lip, showing half his teeth in a disdainful snarl, lowering his brow. “Are you off your nut? I’m just trying to enjoy the full moon! You started this.”

“And do you always get your omega to fight your battles for you?” Declan taunts, giving Merlin an accessing glare.

Arthur growls. “That wasn’t a battle, and if Merlin wanted to bite you in the arse, that was his business. He might need a shot now, though.”

Declan snarls and lunges, but Simon and Gwaine intervene, although Merlin can see a smile playing around Gwaine’s mouth.

“We have good relations between our packs,” Simon declares. “I don’t know what happened here, but it’s imperative that the alphas of our packs get along. We’ve been talking about a bonfire this weekend in order for everyone to meet. I’m sure this can all be cleared up then. Let us all part on friendly terms.”

There are some intense glares between Arthur, Declan, and Merlin before everyone breaks up. Arthur and Merlin turn toward home, having had enough of the full moon.

“What a douche bag,” Merlin says when they enter their house. Audrey is sitting over the basket of sleeping pups, and she puts her finger to her mouth, signaling Merlin to be quiet. Gaius is snoring on the couch, a little drool pooling on his shoulder.

“Just leave him,” Merlin whispers, ruffling Audrey’s hair. “Thanks, Audrey.”

The little girl runs home, and Merlin covers Gaius with an afghan before moving the pups into the spare room.

“Merlin, now that no one’s around, why did you bite Declan?” Arthur looks at him squarely. “Didn’t you think I could handle the situation?”

Merlin’s surprised. “Of course! But I wasn’t going to let him just tear into you!”

“Merlin, I’m an alpha. It’s what I do.”

“I didn’t want him to bite you!”

“So you bit _him_?” Arthur asks. “What if he’d turned around and bitten _you_?”

“He couldn’t,” Merlin says.

“Couldn’t what? Bite you?” Arthur asks, confused.

“No,” Merlin smirks, “turn around.” He pulls Arthur closer by the lapels of the robe he wore out to the forest and kisses him. “Why do you suppose he slammed into you like that, though? I saw him do it. He did it on purpose.”

Arthur shrugs. “Perhaps he doesn’t like the prospect of having another alpha pack leader in the vicinity. He finds it threatening. Maybe after Rex Hobart died last year, he thought he’d get to take over this pack.”

“Uh, oh,” Merlin says, nuzzling his face into Arthur’s neck and sniffing it. “That doesn’t sound good.”

Arthur pulls Merlin closer. “Don’t borrow trouble.”

“Did you see his omega?” Merlin asks into Arthur’s neck after a moment of cuddling.

“Yes,” Arthur answers. “Nice looking guy.”

Merlin pinches Arthur’s side.

“Ouch! That hurt!”

“Good,” Merlin says. “It didn’t look like Declan’s very nice to him.”

“Not everyone can have a wonderful mate like you do,” Arthur replies, turning Merlin’s face so that he can snog Merlin properly.

If they end up naked and knotted with Merlin’s knees over Arthur’s shoulders before they even reach the bedroom, well, Merlin just blames that on the full moon.

~~~

“You haven’t even mated him yet?” The girl asks Freya, watching with big eyes as Percy loads bales of hay into the truck.

“Well, no. Not technically.” She doesn’t really like this girl. She’s a Hobart, and annoying. She never stops looking at Percy, for one thing. And for another, well, she’s always around. And she’s too pretty.

The girl twirls her golden hair around her finger. After a moment, she jumps down from the fence where she’s been sitting and fetches Percy a cup of water from the table that’s set up on the long, shaded front porch of Mitzi’s house.

“Here you go, Percy, I bet you’re thirsty after working so hard!” Allison’s cheeks dimple.

Percy smiles at the girl and takes the cup, sweat dripping off his brow. “Thank you, Allison. That’s very nice of you.” He drinks the water, throwing his head back, muscles in his throat working as he swallows. Freya notices that Allison is watching, too. Percy hands her the empty cup and thanks her again. Only then does it occur to Freya that she should have been the one to get Percy the water.

“He has such big muscles,” Allison giggles when she joins Freya again. “I bet he looks incredible without those clothes on.”

Freya nods, because he really does.

“And you haven’t mated him…why?” Allison asks, her pretty brow crinkling.

“Um. I’m kind of young. Fourteen.”

Allison looks at her funny. “Have you had any heats?”

“Oh, yeah. Several,” Freya answers.

“I don’t get it, then. I’m your age. I’m going to mate as soon as I find someone.” She looks at Percy again. Freya sees the longing in the girl’s eyes, and she worries.


	6. Omegas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 Not many of you around today. I've posted a few times because I have to work tomorrow, but I'll probably get one in later in the day tomorrow, too. Then it's the weekend, so you won't feel the crunch yet. When am I going to write my Reel Merlin? Gotta do that!

 

 

“Did you see Erynn when you were running the other night?” Nim asks Freya and Bronwyn as they clean up the omega den, which is actually the basement of a house that they’ve made dark and cozy and comfortable to suit their cuddling needs.

“Is she a creamy color with brownish ears?” Bronwyn asks, “…and one of her front paws is brownish, too?”

“Yes!” Nim replies eagerly. “Who was she with?”

“Well, I don’t know any of those wolves, but she was with some of them. I mean, she wasn’t running alone or anything. You’ll get a chance to talk to her at the bonfire tomorrow night. They’re having it at the Freemont Ranch, and it really sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun.” She plumps up a pillow and then snuggles down into it, opening her arms to Freya. “Come here, little miss. Why the long face?”

Freya sits down and puts her head on Bronwyn’s shoulder. “I’m just conflicted, that’s all.” She shrugs.

“About what?” Nim asks.

Will comes down the stairs, pups that immediately shift into babies tumbling out of his basket. Asher pulls up and scoots around the big, over-stuffed couch to grab hold of Nim’s long hair.

“Ouch! You little terror!” Nim tries to pry her hair out of his pudgy hand, but he’s already eating it.

Will takes him, forcing him one finger at a time to let go, and moves him across the room into a playpen. “Sorry about that. Asher, why can’t you be lazy like the others?” He indicates Higgy, Vick, and John, who sit on the floor playing happily with blocks.

“Wonder when Higgy’s going to get any hair,” Bronwyn muses, looking at the practically bald little girl.

“Don’t mention it in front of Leon,” Will says, “he worries. Now, what are we talking about?”

“Oh!” Bronwyn starts. “Freya’s conflicted about something. Tell us, Frey.”

Freya sticks her lip out. “Allison…you know, the blonde girl my age that I sometimes talk to?”

They all nod.

“She’s been flirting with Percy.”

“Why, that slag!” Will blurts out.

“Will!” Nim makes a face. She looks back at Freya. “Frey, Percy’s yours. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“But we haven’t mated,” Freya reminds her. “Not officially. I’m really only living with him. Besides, he could take her as a mate even if we were mated. He has no reason to like me at all, and I not only want him to like me, I want him to like me _best_.”

Will leans forward. “Freya, only you can know when you’re ready. But technically, you are not too young to mate. You’ve had several heats. If you want to do it, you should. But if you don’t, please don’t do it just because you’re afraid Percy will look elsewhere.”

“But what if he does?” Freya wails.

“Then he does,” Nim says simply.

“That doesn’t help at all,” Freya replies sulkily, turning over and burying her face in a cushion.

Nim frowns.

“What?” Bronwyn says. “You can’t be helpful all the time.”

“No, it’s just…I’m having a pain,” Nim replies, holding her side.

Bronwyn perks up, and Freya rolls over. “Really?”

Nim nods.

“It’s about time,” Will hoots.

“I don’t want to have them now!” Nim cries. “I won’t get to see Erynn tomorrow!”

“Do you want me to go get Gwaine and Sophia?” Freya asks kindly.

“No, wait until the pains get stronger. They’ll just suffocate me,” Nim replies. “Get Merlin instead.”

Freya jumps up and runs to find the Vixen.

“Distract me,” Nim tells Will.

“Um, okay, I can do that,” Will settles down on the couch.

“Do you want to hear about our trip to town? Yes? Well, Leon and I put on some of those horribly uncomfortable things called blue jeans and went into town yesterday with Pete. He was introducing us everywhere as husbands, which was weird, you know, but okay. You know, we have these wedding rings now.” Will holds up his hand to show Nim, even though she’s wearing one, too. “Anyway, so Leon and I go into the hardware store to get nails while Pete goes in another store, and this big guy asks us if we’re a couple of poofs.” Will laughs. “Leon gets mad and all. He says, ‘What do you mean?’ and the guy says, ‘You know, fuck each other up the arse.’ And Leon says, ‘Nobody fucks me up the arse!’” Will’s rolling now, and Nim and Bronwyn can’t help but laugh.

“The guy looks all confused. ‘I thought you two were married!’ he says, and Leon says, ‘We are!’ ‘Then you’re poofs,’ says the guy. ‘Okay, whatever,’ says Leon, waving the guy away. I lean into the guy before we leave and I say with a wink, ‘Just for the record, _I_ take him up the arse, and I love it!’”

“Oh, Will!” Bronwyn cries. “You didn’t!”

“Of course, I did!” Will retorts. “It’s the truth! You should have seen the guy’s face.”

Freya returns with Merlin just as Nim’s having another pain.

“You doing okay, Nimueh?” Merlin asks, scooting up next to her. She lays her head on his shoulder.

“Yes and no. It hurts, but I’m so glad they’re coming!”

“And you don’t want Gwaine and Sophia here yet?” Merlin asks, petting her hair.

“They’ll drive me nuts,” Nim states matter-of-factly.

“True,” Merlin admits. “But you can tell Gwaine it’s all his fault like I did Arthur.”

“Plenty of time for that,” Nim says.

“You missed Will’s story about the homophobe in the hardware store,” Bronwyn tells Merlin.

“Darn,” Merlin says, looking at Will with teasing eyes, and Will sticks out his tongue.

“So what was with all the alpha posturing on the full moon?” Will asks. “That big beefy Alpha of Freemont pack? He’s a hotty.”

“I’m telling Leon,” Merlin threatens.

“Please don’t,” Will laughs. “I take it back. Arthur’s way hotter. But seriously…he picked a fight with Arthur, so does that mean he wants to take Arthur on?”

“Gods, I hope not!” Merlin replies. “He’s huge! And knowing Arthur, he wouldn’t step down.”

“Did you see the guy’s omega? I talked to him for a minute. His name’s Phineas. He’s having pups. He’s not Declan’s true mate, and Declan wants a fucking harem. That’s all I know.”

“Declan’s a dirt bag,” Merlin mumbles, rubbing Nim’s belly as another pain comes over her.

Ewan appears on the stairs with some lotion. “Freya says you’re in labor, Nim,” he tells her. “I came to rub your feet.”

“Bless you,” Nim sighs, leaning back on the pillows and succumbing to the ministrations of her fellow omegas.

Four hours later, and she’s ready for Gaius. The old man makes his way down the stairs, taking his time about it. Gwaine and Sophia arrive a short time after, taking over for the omegas. Will gathers his pups and goes home, and Merlin decides he’d better get back to his pups, too, because they’ll be wanting to nurse.

When he enters the house, he finds Arthur rolling about on the floor with them.

“Shouldn’t be long now,” Merlin tells Arthur, sitting down and picking up Hunith. “Nim’s all upset that she won’t be able to go to the bonfire tomorrow night.”

“Maybe her sister can come here for a visit,” Arthur says.

“Declan doesn’t seem the kind of nice Alpha that allows his pack to wander off like that,” Merlin says, petting Hunith. “Particularly the omegas.”

“Perhaps if I speak to him and promise a guard…”

Merlin gives Arthur a look. “Have you forgotten what happened on the night of the full moon?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Arthur replies, playing tug-of-war with Merlin Jr. using a rag, “and perhaps it was just a full moon testosterone thing. I can’t judge a man by one meeting.”

“You’re so fair-minded,” Merlin tells him, regarding his mate fondly. “That turns me on so much; I’d really love to suck your cock right now." When Arthur visibly perks up, Merlin adds, "But I have to feed the children.” He gives Arthur a devilish grin and shifts into his wolf form.

The pups all gather up to Merlin's teats and begin sucking ravenously. Merlin looks up at Arthur with innocent eyes and licks his chops. However, Arthur knows better than to get his cock near Merlin’s wolf canines and shakes his head.

“I’ll fix dinner,” he tells Merlin, and heads for the kitchen.

~~~

The night of the bonfire, the Pendragon and Hobart packs head over to the Freemont Ranch. Everyone goes except for Nim and her newborn pups, Pip and Mary; and Sophia, who volunteers to stay behind with them. Gaius also chooses to remain at the ranch, citing that he’s too old to travel more than a mile after “that hellish trip west.” Truly, it was only the frequent stops for Merlin's heat and the fact that the men took turns carrying Gaius when he was tired that got Gaius through it.

The bonfire burns brightly and can be seen for miles. When they reach the ranch, the packs are greeted in a friendly, hospitable manner, especially Hobart pack. When Declan is presented with Arthur, the Alpha of the Freemont pack is cordial, although less than friendly. His omega stays by his side at all times, but doesn’t say much. Merlin notices several other omegas wandering around, and he spots a couple that were with Erynn when she came from the eastern forests. Ewan had vaguely known one of them, a man called Angus. Merlin is a bit surprised to see him now, openly being rutted by an alpha from the Freemont pack. Merlin tugs at Mordred’s arm, directing his attention that way.

“I think this is one of those packs where the omegas aren’t treated so well,” Mordred says.

“But I thought they were promised better if they came here,” Merlin replies.

“Oh, it’s better here than in the east, but not as good as we have it. They just share a lot here, I think. I heard that the omega den is a bit of a rutting hole. Cenred told me to stick close to him tonight, and you’d do well to do the same with Arthur.”

Mordred’s hand is linked with Cenred’s, who is talking to another wolf behind them. Merlin looks around for Arthur, who normally stays within a few feet of Merlin. He finds him speaking with Erynn, probably telling her about Nim’s pups, judging by the overjoyed expression on the girl’s face.

“Moving in on my omegas, Pendragon?” Declan interrupts suddenly, pulling Erynn back by the arm and lifting his covering to rub his bare crotch against her thigh, marking her thoroughly.

“I was simply telling Erynn that her sister had her pups yesterday,” Arthur replies. “I meant no disrespect.” He bows his head slightly.

Declan looks marginally appeased. His females only wear coverings below the waist, and he reaches up to fondle Erynn’s milky white breasts, leaning in to kiss and bite at her neck as he continues to rub his crotch on her leg. He pisses on her feet for good measure before walking off to find his omega, Phineas.

“I was going to ask if he’d let you come visit Nimueh, but I’m not certain he’ll be receptive to that,” Arthur tells Erynn.

“Probably not. Perhaps after I’m mated. Or when Nim’s well enough, maybe Gwaine will bring her and the pups to me. Thank you, Arthur.” She nods deferentially and walks away.

Merlin can’t keep the look of distaste off his face. “That man is utterly revolting,” he says under his breath.


	7. The Bonfire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance in next chapter.

 

 

An uproar nearby draws their attention, and Arthur is quick to reach Percy’s side, where the young man is snarling and generally looking as though he’s about to shift and tear a member of the Freemont pack apart. Declan appears from the crowd of onlookers and stands behind his pack member.

“Percy!” Arthur barks, sharply enough to get the huge wolf’s attention. “What’s going on?”

“This alpha is bothering Freya!” Percy fairly shouts. Freya stands a few feet behind him, looking frightened.

Declan nods to the man. “Joss?”

“I am simply playing with the omega, no harm there!” Joss retorts, although he has the sense to look slightly cowed in the presence of Percy’s considerable size and rage.

“She’s mine!” Percy snarls, canines forming.

“She has no mating bite!” Joss points out.

Declan looks to Arthur and shrugs.

“You almost took my head off a moment ago for something similar,” Arthur points out to Declan, who frowns.

Arthur looks at Percy. “Mark her as yours in some fashion, Percy, until you’re properly mated, or you can expect advances from other alphas.” He looks around at the crowd, adding, “And I was only _talking_ to Declan’s omega-- Let’s make that clear.” Arthur turns and leaves, taking Merlin with him.

Percy turns to Freya, and he’s so worked up, he doesn’t even apologize when he lifts his cloth and rubs his tremendous cock all over her thighs, stomach, breasts, and buttocks. By the time he’s finished, she’s left breathless and panting.

“That ought to make things clear,” Percy growls, taking her hand and leading her to a table, unceremoniously depositing her on his lap.

Everyone fills his plate with food and goes to sit at one of the long tables to eat. Merlin meets several alpha females from the Freemont pack as they sniff around him and Will with interest.

“Personally,” Merlin confides in Will’s ear after Odin gets rid of them, “I can’t imagine being with a female alpha.”

“I can’t either,” Will agrees. “But some like it. Such as Ewan,” he indicates the young man who sits across from them talking to Bronwyn. “He’s found it so difficult to get over the loss of Vivian.”

“He was very fond of her,” Merlin agrees. “Gods, there’s another couple copulating over there. That alpha just dragged him away from his meal to do it.”

“This pack is gross,” Will wrinkles his nose. Leon sits down with his plate and elbows him.

“Keep it down, would you? Unless you’d like to see me fighting one of these brutes for their pack’s honour.”

Will grins, leaning up to give Leon a wet kiss. “That sounds really sexy, actually.”

“Great,” Leon rolls his eyes and goes back to eating.

Brionna, Declan’s sister and an alpha, sits nearby watching Ewan. Finally, she puts down the chicken she’s been eating and calls to him, “Omega, come away from the table with me. We’ll have a good fuck, hmm?”

Ewan’s eyes widen and he drops his chicken bone, obviously unsure. His eyes dart to Merlin, who shrugs.

“I have no idea what the etiquette is,” Merlin tells him before turning to Brionna. “We didn’t share with any packs where we’re from.”

“If he’s _unclaimed_ , it’s okay,’ Brionna replies in a cold, patronizing manner.

“He’s unclaimed, but he just met you, and you’re in a public place,” Merlin replies testily.

“So?” Brionna counters, eyebrow raised. She’s an attractive woman, but her personality completely ruins it, in Merlin’s opinion.

“So,” Will leans in, “what if he doesn’t want your skinny little flutter-dick in his rump? Or what if he does, but he’d rather nobody see it? What then?”

Brionna’s face turns dark red. Slamming her mug of water onto the table, she stands up, and Merlin has the sinking feeling that Will’s really done it this time. The shit is about to hit the fan.

He sees Leon tense out of the corner of his eye, but the cheeky smirk remains on Will’s face.

Brionna’s eyes narrow, her bosom rises, her mouth opens, and Ewan completely saves the day by jumping to the female alpha’s side and placing his hand on her arm, looking at her rather coyly from under his lashes.

“I accept,” he tells her huskily.

Brionna’s distracted, and Leon takes full advantage by jerking his omega away from the table and into the crowd. Thankfully, Brionna doesn’t pursue the matter, and allows Ewan to guide her over into a relatively private thicket.

Merlin sighs, glancing up when Arthur brings over his plate, heavy with food.

“Having fun?” Arthur asks casually, taking the seat Will vacated.

Merlin sighs. “I would really like to go home.”

Arthur turns to him, concerned. “Don’t you feel well?”

“No.” At his mate’s worried look, Merlin closes his eyes for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “Arthur, this pack is vile. They treat their omegas like playthings. It really disturbs me.”

Arthur looks around. “Well, I suppose we can finish eating and gather everyone up to go home.”

Merlin gives Arthur a small smile, knowing his mate would do that for him. “We’ll wait and see how most people feel. But I’m sticking with you the rest of the night.”

“That’s more than fine with me,” Arthur replies, wrapping an arm around Merlin and staring down at his plate.

“Now how are you going to eat?” Merlin asks him, amused.

Arthur tries his left hand, rather unsuccessfully.

“You got more in your lap than in your mouth,” Merlin laughs. “I’ll have to lick that off later. Here, let me feed you.” He puts some chicken in Arthur’s mouth, enjoying the way Arthur licks and sucks at his fingers.

On the other side of the bonfire, Mithian finds Simon sitting alone.

“Don’t you want to eat?” she asks him.

“I’m not hungry,” Simon tells her, staring into the fire in a brooding way that she finds very attractive.

“Oh.” She sits down. “Your family has been very nice since we got here. I haven’t seen much of you lately, though.”

Sounds of copulating drift on the wind, impossible for Simon and Mithian to ignore.

“There seems to be a lot of that going on here,” Mithian says.

“The Freemonts are like that,” Simon replies.

“You should be mated my now,” Mithian blushes at her own forwardness. “Sorry. That was kind of…well. It’s just that you’re so handsome, and an alpha.”

Simon shrugs. “I’ve never been interested, I guess.”

Mithian tilts her head. “You don’t want children?”

“I suppose I do,” he admits, looking into the fire.

She sighs. “I’m a beta. I can’t give a man children. I’m going to be some man’s second choice.”

“You’re very pretty,” he tells her.

“Thanks,” she smiles.

“I think George likes you,” he says.

“He does,” she admits.

“So you’re his first choice. Do you like him?” Simon asks.

“I think so,” Mithian says, smiling suddenly and looking out at the dark mountains in the distance. They’re quiet for a while. “Do you think you’ll go looking for Lance?” she suddenly asks. “I hate to think of him out there alone.”

“I might. I like to travel alone.”

“It’s dangerous, especially in the east,” Mithian tells him.

“I like dangerous,” Simon smiles.


	8. A Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, and Will's been a naughty boy.
> 
> Thanks, you guys, for the comments! So nice to come home after kind of a crap day yesterday back to work and have some comments to read. I posted last night, and here's the next bit.
> 
> I have to post my paperlegends tomorrow night, and I'm a bit nervous about that, and no...I haven't written a bit for Reel Merlin yet!
> 
> Anthony brought up Kilgharrah, so he's in here. Also, a couple of readers like to see more of Will/Leon, so here they are! And someone else asked for Lance, and Anthony, I'm working up for lots of good Lance stuff for you, dear!

Lance has been alone for long weeks, and he isn’t sure what’s keeping him going anymore. Nothing holds meaning for him. He once thought he loved Gwen, but Gwen wasn’t who he thought she was at all. What does that say about his judgement?

He was once proud to be a beta because betas aren’t ruled by their hormones. What good did that do him? He was ruled by his heart instead, and his heart deceived him.

Kara was a good person who ended up suffering just for loving him and trusting him to take care of her. He invited her into his family, offering his protection and guardianship, and look what happened to her.

He travels in his wolf form, a lone wolf seeking no companionship, hunting only when necessary, his days filled with restless wandering and self-searching.

When the night of the first full moon comes only days after Lance kills Gwen, Lance runs like a crazy man, the fire in his blood burning strong.

When the second full moon comes, Lance has no energy for running. He lies down under some trees and dozes, his blood telling him to run, but his body refusing.

Instead, he has a vivid dream.

_“Wake up, wolf,” a voice commands him, and Lance awakens from a deep sleep, looking around. He’s in a cave—not dank and dark, but golden and bright. In front of him is a stream of sparkling water, more intensely sparkling than any water he’s ever seen._

_Lance looks about for the owner of the voice, but sees no one._

_“Who speaks to me?” he asks, his own voice echoing within the cave._

_“You can call me Kilgharrah,” the voice answers. Lance’s heart-rate picks up. He’s heard of Kilgharrah—known as Father of the Wolf. There are cave drawings of him in some of the older mountains caves._

_“Lance, you have given up,” Kilgharrah tells him. “It is time for you to make a choice. Behind you is a tunnel.”_

_Lance looks over his shoulder and, for the first time, sees a tunnel full of shining light that he knows wasn’t there a moment before._

_“You may go through that tunnel to the place beyond and end your existence here,” Kilgharrah tells him, “or you may drink of the sparkling waters before you and find your destiny, although it may not be what you think you want. You must make the decision now.”_

_Lance is too apathetic to think much about the decision. Honestly, it’s a bit easier for him to lean over and drink from the stream than it is to get up and walk into the tunnel, so that pretty much decides things for him. As soon as he tastes of the clear, delicious water, he wakes up._

Blinking, Lance looks at the forest awakening around him and wonders about the odd dream. One thing is different; he feels more energetic than he has in weeks.

~~~

“Leon,” Will huffs, trying to keep up with his alpha’s long stride.

“Don’t speak,” Leon barks. When they get back to their house, Leon tells Audrey and Clyde to take the pups to the omega den until he comes to get them. Will has a bit of an unsettled feeling in his stomach then, because Leon doesn’t often get angry with him, but when he does—watch out.

When the children are gone, Leon turns to Will, his face serious. “You are going to have to learn when to keep your mouth shut. You could have caused a real incident back there with that other pack. Declan is just looking for a fight.”

Will frowns. “That woman was treating Ewan like a possession.”

“Then you should have left it up to Merlin, as pack Vixen, to straighten her out. Or to me, as your alpha. You do not give me enough respect, Will.”

Will reaches out and touches Leon’s arm. “I respect you, Leon.”

“You aren’t going to seduce your way out of this one,” Leon tells him sternly. “Remove your cloth.”

They’d worn only the standard coverings to the bonfire, and Will feels his skin tingling as he follows his alpha’s commands.

“Turn around, hands against the wall,” Leon orders.

Will does so. He feels Leon’s large hand on his arse, teasing him. “I love the way your arse is covered with freckles,” he tells Will, breath hot in his ear before the first stinging slap falls. Will winces. “Come on, push it out this way. Take your punishment like a man,” Leon orders.

Will pouts, but sticks his arse out, palms flat against the wall, feet spread. Damn that Leon, he packs a good wallop. The next slap pushes Will forward, and he has to brace himself not to hit the wall. He feels his traitorous dick hardening between his legs.

“That butt sure bounces when I hit it,” Leon says in a low, growly voice that tightens Will’s nuts. “I should spank you more often. You certainly deserve it. How many do you think you should get, Will?”

“Er, five?” Will ventures.

Leon laughs outright. “I was thinking more like twenty-five.”

Will whimpers, and Leon begins the punishment for real, making Will count them out until his bottom burns, and he knows he won’t be able to sit down for days. And he’s hard as a rock.

“Turn around,” Leon directs, and Will obeys. Leon has something in his hand, and Will sees it’s a cock ring, something Leon hasn’t put on him in a long time. Will bites his lip—trying not to hump like a needy whore when Leon does it now. He’s already so turned-on, he can’t stand it, but he doesn’t say anything because he doesn’t want to get into any more trouble with his alpha. Leon’s really so easy-going and understanding with him most of the time, and deep down Will knows that to cause an incident with another pack could bring death to members of their own. And really…Leon is just so fucking sexy when he’s punishing Will like this…

“Get on your knees,” Leon orders.

Will gladly does so, Leon’s raging erection now directly in front of him. Leon takes Will by the hair.

“Open your mouth,” he says huskily, and Will does, tongue out.

Using his other hand, Leon directs his huge cock into Will’s mouth, only able to fit half of it in, stretching Will’s lips to the limit. The feeling is amazing. Will takes careful breaths through his nose, forcing himself to remain calm as Leon begins to fuck in and out, pulling Will’s hair and forcing him to take it.

“That’s right, take your alpha’s cock,” Leon tells him. “Take more…come on, with that big mouth, you should be able to.”

Will wants to roll his eyes at that line, but he refrains, instead running his tongue under Leon’s cock, making him gasp.

Leon begins to rut in earnest, and Will gags, flailing a bit.

“Hands clasped behind your back,” Leon orders, “or I’ll get the rest of the pack in here to watch.”

Will knows Leon just threw that one in for fun, since most everyone else is still at the bonfire, and they both know Leon’s not about to call their children and Nim in there for a show, but his words make Will’s nipples hard and his bound-up dick drip. He does as Leon says, saliva dripping from his stretched mouth as Leon continues to fuck it greedily.

Finally Leon pulls out, pulling his cock upward. “Suck on my knot,” he tells Will, voice tight as he shoves it in Will’s face.

Will eagerly complies, wrapping his lips around the large protrusion that he knows is so very sensitive at the base of the long, thick column. Leon gives a strangled cry and then spurts, white ejaculate landing all over Will’s face and hair. He stands looking down at Will, chest heaving with exertion. Will tries not to look as needy as he feels, but it’s difficult; he wants to come so badly.

“Please, alpha…may I come?” he finally asks when Leon doesn’t say anything.

“Stand up,” Leon says, turning to look through the desk drawer. He returns with some rope. Will’s eyes widen.

“I just don’t think you’re repentant enough,” Leon tells him. “Tomorrow you’ll be spouting off that mouth again.”

Will shakes his head. “No. No, I won’t.”

Leon gives him a look that says he knows better. And really, Will knows better, too.

“Put out your hands, wrists together.” Leon ties them, then leads Will to the middle of the room where Leon stands on a chair and, to Will’s alarm, ties Will’s arms up over his head, attaching them to the ceiling beam so that Will has to stand on his tip-toes.

Leon proceeds to put his own loin cloth back on.

Now Will is the only one undressed, his fat cock pointing upward. It’s an odd feeling, and so fucking _hot_.

Leon grabs a few pillows off the couch and gets on the floor. “Did you know,” he says conversationally as he lifts first one of Will’s legs and then the other, placing them on each of Leon’s shoulders, “you even have freckles on the insides of your thighs?”

Will moans as Leon presses a kiss at the inner juncture of his right thigh and torso. Leon keeps peppering kisses until he reaches Will’s hanging ball sac and then he begins to lick and suckle until Will is moaning, begging for release. All the while, his arse continues to burn from the spanking he’d gotten.

Leon takes his time, tormenting his omega, licking and nibbling, but never taking Will’s engorged, stubby cock in his mouth, and never releasing him from the cock ring. Tears run down Will’s cheeks.

“Are you going to be a good boy from now on?” Leon eventually asks him, leaning back to look up at his hanging omega, so naked and flushed, crying out his frustration, his cock a hard, angry red.

“Yes,” Will nods his head. “I swear it. Just let me come!”

Leon smiles. “I’ll think about it.”

Will groans, fairly dancing on his toes.

Leon stands up, pausing to bite at Will’s peaked nipples, and then to run his tongue inside Will’s eager mouth. He takes one of Will’s legs and bends it up over his left shoulder. Then he takes the other and bends it over his right. He pulls off his loin cloth, and it’s an easy slide in after that, holding onto Will’s back as he fucks into the tight, wet hole, Will yelling out the whole while. Leon bites down on his omega’s mating mark, reminding him who’s boss one last time before he slides off the cock ring, and Will comes violently between them, clamping down on Leon’s burgeoning knot, making him come, too. Leon holds Will close to his body, reaching up and releasing Will’s hands from the rope, and they topple to the cushions on the floor.

 

 


	9. Simon Goes East

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. This simply didn't flow.

When Simon was three, his father, Carrick, was killed in a fight with the last rival wolf pack to be driven from their territory. Pete mourned the loss of his brother and took his brother’s son to raise as his own. Years earlier, Pete’s daughter, Eunice, had taken up with an alpha from a rival pack and left the area, taking her younger brother, Cenred with her. Pete’s eldest son, Rex, the Alpha leader of the Hobart pack, spoke openly against her defection and declared family to be more important than anything else. From then on the pack rarely let in one that was not its own.

Simon has spent all of his life working on the Hobart Ranch and knows very little about the ways of alpha/omega courtship. Declan, leader of the only other pack around, tends to keep an iron fist on his omegas, although he somehow expects other packs to share with him and his. Simon hasn’t had the opportunity to actively search for a mate within the Freemont pack, nor does he feel much safety in doing so. He’d be embarrassed to admit that he’s an alpha male virgin—perhaps the only one his age for miles.

Having been so sheltered, Simon is naturally curious, but he’s unwilling to cause problems among the Pendragons. Arthur’s warning that first day on the trail when he’d watched Gwaine’s omega swimming had been enough to keep Simon discreet about his curiosity after that.

He’s really not even sure that he’s attracted to women—watching Sophia and Nim in the river hadn’t been particularly exciting-- and part of him isn’t comfortable thinking about men. Mithian’s made it rather plain that she’d be willing to have some fun with Simon without expecting an official mating out of it, but he can’t bring himself to try.  He’s gotten a few looks from others in the Pendragon pack--Owain, Sid, Geraint--but every time he thinks about rutting with them, he changes his mind.

Simon has surreptitiously observed others, though. He’s found it fascinating to watch how couples interact, never having really had anyone else to observe much other than Mitzi and Pete and some of the humans in town, who are usually more private in their copulations. The Pendragons fascinate him because their copulations are so emotional, unlike what happens in the Freemont pack, which he doesn’t spend a lot of time with, if he can help it.

Simon finds himself bored with the daily making of hay and other chores about the ranch, and since he can’t answer any of the arduous looks from the omegas and betas around him, he decides to go out on the trail again and see if he can find this Lance fellow. Gwaine feels hopeful that Arthur will take Lance back into the pack if he will only show up.

So one morning before the sun comes up, Simon heads east—the direction in which Lance had last been seen.

~~~

Mordred helps Cenred fix a perimeter fence, the hot sun beating down on their backs. “I haven’t seen you talking much to your mother and father since we got here,” he says as casually as he can manage. Cenred’s parents are a sore subject, he’s noticed. Cenred merely grunts and pounds another nail into the wood with the hammer.

“They seem like nice enough people.” Silence. “Your mom’s watching the pups right now. I think they’re going to start shifting soon.”

This catches Cenred’s attention, and he looks over at Mordred. “Yeah?”

Mordred nods. “I’ll bet Harry does it first.” He smiles. “He reminds me so much of you. So snarly.”

Cenred ducks his head. “Sometimes I don’t know what you see in me, Mordred.” He leans back on his heels and looks off into the distance.

“I see a handsome, brave wolf that I want to fuck me into the ground,” Mordred says huskily, and Cenred turns his head, the needy look in his eyes soon covered by something else as he lunges forward, pushing Mordred onto the grass and covering him with his body, pressing ardent kisses to his neck, face, and lips. Mordred responds, instinctively knowing as he always has, even before their bond became apparent, that Cenred needs his love as well as his admiration. And Mordred does love Cenred; his heart hurts with it.

“Why did your sister take you away from here?” Mordred whispers when they pull apart, and he feels Cenred shiver over him. Mordred presses tiny kisses just above Cenred’s shirt collar. “It’s all right. You don’t have to tell me now.”

Cenred shakes his head, opening his mouth to say something, but before he can, a shadow falls over them.

“Is this what they call mending a fence these days?” Pete asks, eyes laughing.

Cenred pulls himself up and off Mordred.

“We got a little side-tracked,” Mordred replies, sitting.

“Mitzi says the pups are ready for a good nursing,” Pete replies. “She sent me out here to get you, Mordred.”

He puts a hand out to help Mordred up, and Mordred gladly takes it, casting a smile Cenred’s way, but Cenred is no longer looking at him; he’s back to hammering at the fence.

Mordred walks toward the house, wondering why Cenred holds such ill feelings toward two such seemingly congenial people as Pete and Mitzi. Of course, people change over the years—they mellow. Cenred’s parents could have been unpleasant when Cenred was young. Or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Cenred feels that his parents “let” Eunice take Cenred away. Maybe he feels that, had they truly loved him, they would have prevented it somehow.

Mordred sighs, simply wishing that Cenred would unburden himself a bit to Mordred. He’s his omega, and his true mate, and they’ve already discussed the fact that neither one of them wish to bring another mate into their relationship. So they should be all things to one another, and Mordred wants Cenred to be able to confide in him. However, Cenred is simply not a natural confider.

When Mordred finds the pups romping about the living room under Mitzi’s supervision, he smiles at the older woman before shifting into his wolf form and settling onto the rug, his sons gathering about him to nurse. He knows that it won’t be long until they are weaned, so he wants to enjoy this while he can. Mitzi stays in her rocking chair and talks to him, even though Mordred can’t really answer her.

“That Cenred, he’s a looker, isn’t he? Looks a bit like his brother, Rex. He was the oldest, you know. Died last year. The Alpha of the pack. His picture’s up there on the mantel.”

Mordred swings his wolf head and looks up at the mantel at a picture of a dark-haired, beefy man. If he heard right, Rex was about twenty years older than Mordred. Frankly, he might be biased, but he thinks Cenred is much better looking than Rex was. Mordred wonders if Rex had a mate. He’s never heard anyone talk of one, nor of any children. All the younger people on the ranch are the children of Hagen or Leith, the two brothers born after Rex and before Eunice.

“Rex was a natural pack Alpha. Ran this place like it was second nature to him.   When he died, a piece of me went with him.”

This is the perfect opportunity for Mordred to ask how Rex died, but he can’t do it in wolf form. He tries lifting his wolf brow inquisitively, but Mitzi really isn’t paying attention.

“Arthur’s doing all right, though. I was glad to get that letter from Cenred. Surprised, but glad. Before that, I had no idea where the boy was. And hearing that his pack needed a place to go was like a godsend to us. Seems Cenred had kept his ears open about us, even if we didn’t know a thing about him.”

Mordred doesn’t particularly like getting all this information second-hand and colored by Mitzi’s perceptions. He’s sure there’s a good reason Cenred never let his parents know where he was.

Mitzi sighs and changes the subject. “I hear Simon’s run off again. That boy likes nothing better than to get away. He’s a roamer. Rex was never able to pin him down. Someone says he’s after some fellow that’s lost from your pack? Well, that’s interesting. If anyone can find him, though, it’s Simon.”

Mordred looks down at his little ones taking their last suckles of milk, their eyes drooping with sleep. He wishes he’d taken them home to nurse them so that he could take a nap, too, and then maybe Cenred would come in and wake him up in some delicious way. As it is, though, he shifts back and places the boys carefully in their basket.

“Would you like some help making lunch for the men?” Mordred asks.

“That’s nice of you, Mordred. Freya and Allison have it under control, but I’m sure they’d appreciate your help carrying it all out. I’ll watch over the boys.”

Mordred smiles and goes into the large ranch kitchen where Freya and Allison are putting food into baskets.

“Oh, hello, Mordred!” Freya smiles.

Mordred greets them. “Mitzi says I should carry some out to the tables.”

Allison loads him down with a few baskets and he steps outside and down the back steps, traversing the back lawn to the rows of picnic tables. Out in the distance he can see the men working the hay bales. Behind him, Freya rings the large iron bell for lunch.

 

 


	10. Goings On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couldn't think of a better chapter title. I wrote this up this morning. Sorry about no update yesterday--I worked hard on my Reel Merlin and actually almost wrote the entire thing in one day.

Lance has traveled a week without realizing that he’s been heading west. It wasn’t intentional on his part; it just happened. He’s felt so much better lately—ever since that vivid dream. Or maybe it wasn’t really a dream. He’s always heard that Kilgharrah comes to a wolf in his sleep. But why would Kilgharrah bother coming to him?

Whatever happened, Lance feels energetic and more at peace with his decision about Gwen. It needed to be done. Gwen had wronged Lance and wronged the pack. Lance was right to be the one to deliver her punishment, and the fact that she was carrying the spawn of the Prime Alpha’s sealed the deal. Whether Lance would have been strong enough to kill her otherwise is neither here nor there anymore; what’s done is done, and Lance needs to live his life.

He begins thinking for the first time about joining a new pack. In order to do so, he may have to prove himself, which means he needs to be in fighting shape. So he begins to train, both as a wolf and as a man. The chin-ups he does on large tree branches bring chiseled definition to his shoulders and biceps. His chest muscles begin to bulge. He starts working on his abs. He takes long runs in the morning as a man and even longer runs in the evening as a wolf. He has his first confrontation with a rogue alpha and wins, killing the alpha. He gains a reputation of a lone wolf in the forest that isn’t to be messed with.

Lance begins to wonder if there’s really any need for him to join a pack. There might not be, except that he’d like some companionship. He considers snagging a wife from one of them, but oddly, the thought doesn’t really appeal to him. A need is taking root within him that he doesn’t understand. A deep-seated need that scares Lance in its intensity.

And then he gets sick.

~~~

Merlin is in heat again, and he can’t get enough of Arthur. Except Arthur is constantly busy on the ranch. It seems that there’s no end to the duties for the Alpha, and Gwaine can’t take over them all, particularly when Nim seems determined to have her heats coincide with Merlin’s.

Oh, Merlin knows she doesn’t do it on purpose—the omegas living all together as they do and having pups all at once just naturally seem to make them fall into cycle with one another. But one thing is clear—they can’t close down the ranch so that the alphas can service their omegas. At the moment, Will and Mordred are not in heat yet, thank the gods, so Leon and Cenred are working double time.

Arthur is knotted inside Merlin, his breath falling heavily in Merlin’s ear, and Merlin is hanging in that blissful place just after three—or was it four?—orgasms when his body feels like it’s made of tingly stuff, when someone begins pounding on the door.

They don’t wait for anyone to try to answer it, either, but rather just barge in.

“Pendragon, where are you? What kind of Alpha sits at home in the middle of the day?” A bark from the front hall.

It’s Declan. Merlin would recognize his obnoxious voice anywhere.

“The kind of Alpha who has an omega in heat!” Arthur barks back from over Merlin’s head. “How dare you barge into my house!”

“I need to talk to you!” Declan appears in the doorway, waving his hand dismissively, as if it doesn’t matter that Arthur’s twelve inches deep inside Merlin’s arse at the moment. “This is important.”

“I rather think this is important,” Arthur retorts, shifting his body, causing his knot to brush against Merlin’s prostate and bringing a rush of cum out of Merlin's cock. Merlin bites his arm rather than cry out in front of Declan.

“What? Rutting your omega?” Declan makes a sound of derision and seats himself on the edge of the bed two inches from Merlin’s face. Arthur growls, and Declan huffs, moving over to a chair.

“This is about my sister Brionna and that omega in your pack…the dark one, I don’t know his name.”

“Ewan,” Arthur supplies tightly as his knot releases, and he comes. Declan watches with interest and then mounting impatience as Arthur thrusts a few times, bringing Merlin swiftly to another climax, and they share a sweet kiss before he pulls out. Merlin loses the rest of the conversation as he hurries to take a shower and get out of Declan’s odious presence.

Later, Arthur tells him that Brionna wants to mate with Ewan and Declan wanted to take Ewan back with him that moment, but Arthur insisted upon talking to the boy about it first. Sensing that there might be a ‘no’ in the making, Declan threw in that, of course, they could arrange a trade.

“This made me think of Nim’s sister,” Arthur says.

Merlin smiles. “Exactly what came to my mind.”

“Only if Ewan’s agreeable though,” Arthur puts in.

“Of course. And I don’t know, Arthur…who would want to go to that pack over this one?”

Arthur presses his lips together. “True.” He sighs. “This is really unfortunate, Merlin. It’s going to cause bad feelings between the packs. But I’m not going to force that boy to join them if he doesn’t want to.”

Merlin puts his arms around his mate. “I know you aren’t.”

~~~

Freya fumes, watching Allison clean out the water troughs wearing what has to be the smallest pieces of clothing known to mankind. She heard someone call it a ‘string bikini,’ and she thinks it’s awful. She soon discovers that wet, it’s even worse. Allison has breasts that are far too big for a girl her age. They remind Freya of Morgana’s and that just gets her thinking about how Morgana was the one that Percy was originally supposed to mate with.

Freya sighs.

Every night when she goes to bed, Percy is on her mind. Her body aches for him now. She knows her heat’s coming on, and what is she going to do? She watches Allison’s bottom jiggle, and yes…Percy’s eyes wander over there as he unloads the truck. It’s only natural. Even if Freya gets a hold of one of those bikinis and pours a whole gallon of water all over herself, she isn’t going to fill it out anywhere as nicely as Allison does. She’ll look like a drowned rat.

What Freya needs is some good advice. She’s going to have to go to the omega den, which should be full of heated omegas later that day.


	11. Heat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for so little. This is an extremely busy week for me. Things will settle down soon.

 

 

When Freya enters the omega den that evening after dinner, there’s already a heated discussion going on.

“You can’t go living with that pack of animals, so stop even considering it,” Will says, pulling his legs up close to his body as he lies on his side on the furs.

“Still can’t sit on your arse, can you?” Bronwyn laughs.

“Oh, shut it. You should be lucky enough to receive one of Leon’s punishments.”

Bronwyn sticks out her tongue.

“What are you talking about?” Freya asks.

“That mega bitch alpha Brionna from Freemont Pack wants to mate with Ewan,” Will tells her.

“No!” Freya grabs Ewan’s hand. “You can’t go live with them!”

“But they’ll be angry with our pack if I don’t!” Ewan worries.

“So, what? We can’t do everything they want just because of that!” Will scoffs. “We’re not sacrificing you to them. Arthur doesn’t expect that of you.”

“Yeah, so put that out of your head and help me with my problem,” Freya tells him. Nim and Merlin come in from another room and sit down, their alphas sleeping in adjacent rooms. Freya looks at them. “I was just about to say, I need advice. Allison has been pulling out all the stops with Percy, and I can tell he’s being such a gentleman. I’m about to go into heat, and I know we should mate…I want to.” She squeezes her eyes shut. “I’m just scared.”

The omegas all look at one another. “What would make it easier for you, Frey?” Nim finally asks, at the same time that Ewan poses the question, “What scares you the most?”

Freya thinks about it.

“I’m afraid it will hurt. Percy will try to be gentle, but he’s like…fourteen inches long and really thick.” Eyes widen all around. “And he’s been holding back, and I’ll be in heat…what if he goes---nuts on me?” She bites her lip. “Maybe if I weren’t…alone with him?”

“Um, you mean like you want one of us there with you?” Merlin asks. “Wouldn’t that be weird?”

Freya looks down. “I guess.”

Mordred comes in, and Will quickly updates him on what they’ve been talking about. “Where have you been, anyway?”

“Nursing the pups! They’re total pigs. All they do is eat.” Mordred cuddles up next to Freya. “I don’t know, Freya. I guess it wouldn’t be too weird… I mean, when I was going through my first heats, Will and Merlin fucked me with dildos.”

“Don’t remind me,” Merlin groans. “My arm’s still sore, I think.”

Freya begins to squirm. “Oh, shit. Just being around Nim and Merlin is bringing on my heat.”

“Well, Freya, there’s nothing wrong with bringing Percy in here so we can make sure it all goes well the first time. We can kick Will out. He’s crass,” Bronwyn tells her.

“Hey!” Will says from his corner.

“I want Will here,” Freya pants, beginning to strip off her modesty cloths. “For all his crassness, he’s one of the most nurturing among you.”

“Everything will be fine, Freya,” Will gives Bronwyn a smug look. “Just relax, and let your heat come on. Percy should be sniffing around here shortly.”

~~~

Simon doesn’t expect to find the lost man so easily, but in the end it’s just a matter of following the stories of the lone, handsome wolf who first refused to mate or join a pack and now has sequestered himself in the upper mountains where the cool springs are.

He treks in that direction for only a few days, equilibrium challenged the higher he goes, when suddenly he catches a tantalizing scent on the air.

Simon follows it, circling back the way he came a few times before he sees the concealed entrance to a cave. He finds a natural spring made from the run-off from the mountain peak, and continues deeper into the cavern, following the sweet aroma that reminds him of nutmeat on a winter’s day.

In a darker part of the cave, Simon slows down, sensing someone near. The alluring smell is stronger here, and he isn’t afraid, although he thinks any sensible wolf should be.

“Hello?” he asks into the quiet.

The only sound is a faint dripping noise echoing in the distance.

“I know you’re here,” Simon calls, and then, “let me help you.” He isn’t sure why he adds that last part; he just instinctively knows this person needs help.

“W-who are you?” the voice finally comes. It’s husky and weak to Simon’s ears.

“My name’s Simon. I’m not a threat. Are you sick?” By now, Simon’s eyes have adjusted to the darkness, and he can see the form in the corner. He moves closer. He could tell by the voice that it’s a man, and now he sees the man has tanned skin, rich, dark hair, and large brown eyes. His scent is…amazing. That’s the only way Simon can describe it.

“I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I feel weird. I …don’t come any closer,” the man beseeches.

Simon stops, staring openly. Now that he’s this close, he can really see that the man is absolutely gorgeous. He lies naked on several animal hides, his chest broad and muscular and beaded in sweat, despite the fact that it isn’t particularly hot in the cave. His arms and his long legs are well-toned. His face has a classical look, but his eyes are soft and deep. The overwhelming scent he gives off calls to Simon in a way he’s never experienced before. He covers his nose in order to recover his other senses.

“What’s the matter?” the man asks. “I mean, I have bathed.”

Simon blinks, suddenly realizing what he’s experiencing. “You’re…you’re omega. You’re putting off a strong scent.”

The man laughs, a real belly laugh. “No,” he shakes his head, then rolls over, almost as though he’s in pain. “I’m beta.” He rises on his elbows, then pushes up to his knees. He doesn’t even seem to realize what he’s doing.

“You’re presenting,” Simon points out.

The stunning man raises his head abruptly. “No, I’m not!”

“Yes,” Simon nods his head. “You are.” He drops his backpack and begins to loosen his loin cloth, his body thrumming. “You’re in heat; that’s what’s wrong with you. You’re not beta. You’re an omega, and I’m an alpha.”

He can’t take it anymore—the pull is too strong. Simon’s never wanted anyone like this before. He’s got to have this man, and he’s got to have him now. He suddenly feels as though he was born for this moment, right here, right now. And he’s going to seize it.


	12. More Heat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bit hurried this morning. I'm a little surprised more of you didn't see the Lance thing coming!

 

“Oh, no you’re not!” Lance doesn’t know who this guy is, but he does know he’s not coming an inch closer to him, if Lance can help it. Using the last bit of strength he has, he attempts to shift, but finds he can’t. To his utter mortification, he lets out a whimper and sags to his side.

“Please,” he wheezes, when the man leans over him, “I’m begging you…don’t do this.” This close up, Lance can now see the odd bottle-green of the man’s eyes.

“You’ll feel better for it,” he tells Lance. “In fact, it’s the only thing that will relieve you.”

Lance has never wanted a man in his life, but glancing down now at the impressive yard length of Simon’s erect cock has his body pulsing with need. He feels a gush of wetness from his arse, and again Simon covers his nose. Lance can see that the man is straining not to come forward.

“My name is Simon,” the man says from behind his hand.

“L-lance,” Lance stammers.

Simon grows very still. “Lance? From Pendragon pack?”

Lance frowns, then shudders as a particularly intense wave of heat assaults him. “You know of me?”

“Man, I’d like to say I’ve been looking all over for you, but you’ve practically fallen into my lap!”

~~~

When Percy charges down the stairs, the whole house shakes.

He stops at the bottom, staring into the omega den, unsure. When he sees Freya writhing on the furs, he steps forward, but the presence of several other omegas, plus his uncertainty of whether or not he and Freya will really mate this time stops him in his tracks.

Will speaks up, frank, as usual.

“Percy, we’re going to witness your first mating with Freya to make sure all goes well. You know, because you’re so hung.”

Percy blinks. “Oh, okay.” He removes his loin cloth, casting it aside, and everyone openly stares.

Too far gone now to care anymore, Freya presents. Percy charges.

“Whoa!” Both Will and Mordred halt his progress with difficulty. “Merlin, grab him around the waist,” Will orders, voice strained with the difficulty of trying to hold him.

Merlin comes from the back, pulling as hard as possible.

“Percy, only the tip! Only the tip!” Nim tells him, trying to break through the alpha rutting fog. Percy looks like he’s trying really hard to gain control of himself.

“This would have been so much better if we’d done it when you weren’t in heat,” he grits out between clenched teeth. “I can’t control myself, Freya! Gods, you smell delicious!” She cries out when he spears her, a third of him going in before he can stop himself. The other omegas are useless against his strength.

In the presence of the alpha, Merlin quickly goes into a bout of heat, and Arthur awakens in the other room, sensing his distress. When he stumbles in, groggy, and finds a rutting alpha in his omega’s presence, the Alpha growls low and threatening in his throat, and charges, grasping Merlin, who immediately submits his throat and allows Arthur to mount him right there.

The situation quickly gets out of control.

Gwaine appears next, following his Alpha’s cue, taking Nim up against the wall and thrusting into her, his teeth buried into her neck. The heat orgy rapidly sets off the rest of the omega’s heats, and it isn’t long before Leon, Odin, and Cenred, appear in the omega den, Cenred thrusting into Mordred over the couch, Odin seating Bronwyn on his cock even as he finishes the chicken he had in his mouth when he was interrupted by her scent wafting over the compound, and Leon pinning Will to the floor. Ewan, unmated, is left in agony until Agravaine scents out the pheromone explosion and comes to investigate, giving him relief.

Freya knows that Percy’s holding back, but it still hurts. The fullness cools her heat, though, so she can’t complain. A part of her wishes to be alone with Percy now, but the mating isn’t complete. She turns her head, baring her neck to him.

“I have to knot you before I can fully mate you, Freya,” Percy tells her dolefully.

“How far inside are you?” she asks, hoping he’ll say that he’s close to fully seated.

“About a third of the way.” He’s out of breath for holding back. A rush of disappointment and fear runs through her. This isn’t working at all. She lowers her head, hating herself for the tears that begin to fall. All around her are the sounds of pleasure. The way Will moans into Leon’s mouth, you’d think he’s been taken to heaven. Merlin and Arthur appear to be in their own little world…

She wants that.

She feels Percy withdraw from her body, and suddenly he’s cradling her in his big arms.

“Let’s have some privacy, little one.” He carries her into another room, and when she looks up from his smooth, bare shoulder, he’s closed the door and sat her down on the big, soft bed.


	13. And Still More Heat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Loss of Virginity  
> Thanks for the continued comments. I love to read them.  
> Things are crazy this week.

 

Lance regards Simon warily. “Why are you looking for me?”

“The rest of your pack has been wondering about you. They’re worried. They’ve heard about you killing the woman you were with,” Simon answers, eyes running over the toned lines of Lance’s body. He’s just so beautiful. Simon is rethinking the term _love at first sight,_ which he’d always thought a fairy tale.

What’s happening to him? There’s a piece of hair that’s flopped over into Lance’s eyes—brown eyes that have the longest lashes Simon’s ever seen other than on one of the steers at their ranch—and he reaches out and pushes it out of the way with shaking fingers. Lance blinks at him, trying to focus.

“Listen, um, I don’t do men,” Lance says. “I mean, you’re a nice-looking bloke and all, but I’ve been mated to two women. They’re both dead now, so I’m kind of staying away from mating altogether. And—and anyway, I’m a beta! I don’t know why you insist I’m in heat—I think maybe I’m really sick. I can’t be _in heat_!” He swallows hard, and Simon really wants to lick that dipping Adam’s apple.

“I can smell your omega scent,” Simon says. “It’s overwhelming. You might as well be screaming at me to fuck you. I deserve a prize for just standing here like this instead of being buried in you already.”

Lance looks affronted. “Nobody’s asking you to stand here and smell me! Go away!”

“You couldn’t drag me out of here, now,” Simon tells him fervently, face intent. He runs his hand down Lance’s flank, and Lance shudders.

“I’m telling you, what you’re thinking _is not_ going to happen!” Lance tries one last time, weakly, because already his body is heating up again, and something’s dripping down his legs “Oh, gods…gods…what’s happening to me?” He moans, really terrified now, but needing something—needing _Simon_.

“It’s okay,” Simon gets behind Lance, presses kisses along his shoulders and spine, licks the divots just above his arse. “I’m going to take care you, Lance. But you’re going to ask me for it because I’m not going to have you tell me later that I raped you.”

Lance whimpers. “Please…” he arches his back, pushing his arse up, “please…fuck me! Do it, Simon! I need you to do it; I want you to do it!”

That’s more than enough for Simon, who pulls Lance to him and positions himself at his entrance, easing himself in as slowly as possible. He wants to rut like a madman, but he fights for control, pushing all the way in before pulling slowly out and then driving in again just a bit faster this time, loving how Lance groans at the sweet slide, calling out his name.

Simon pulls Lance up so that he’s kneeling, leaning against Simon’s chest, and tugs on Lance’s cock, wringing out the sweet, clear, omega cum, feeding it to Lance on his fingers, rubbing it into Lance’s nipples and making him squirm on Simon’s cock like a fish on a spear, his orgasm mounting fast. Simon’s knot begins to grow, and Simon pushes it past Lance’s sensitive rim, making Lance pant, beg, and finally shout, jolting in Simon’s arms, spurting cum a foot in front of them. It’s so deliciously beautiful, Simon’s weak with it.  Simon just lost his virginity in the most wonderful of ways, and already his knot is pulsing slowly inside of Lance, giving Simon blissful sensations that make him clench his arse and tighten his hold around the omega’s tight stomach. They’re tied, and it hit’s Simon like a flash…

“My true mate,” he chokes out into Lance’s ear just before he leans down and bites the sensitive skin of Lance’s neck, canine’s descending and drawing blood.

~~~

Freya looks at Percy, wanting him, but frightened about what will happen now that they’re alone. The bed is large, and Percy stretches out on the other end of it, propping his upper body on the pillows. He seems to be in control of himself now. Freya is in between surges, so she takes a deep breath. She looks down at herself and blushes.

“What are you thinking?” Percy asks her, big, muscular, and so handsome lying there naked in front of her.

“Just…well, I’m not much to look at.”

“Come here,” Percy tells her, and Freya automatically obeys her alpha, crawling over to kneel beside him. He reaches over to tug playfully at her hair.

“In the last few years,” he begins, “I’ve watched you grow from a child into a woman. I don’t know why you don’t see that.”

Freya looks away. “I’m not particularly…curvy.”

She feels Percy’s finger run down her arm, then move over to circle one small breast. “Can I tell you a secret?” he asks.

When she looks at him, he isn’t looking at her eyes, but at her breasts. “Yes,” she can barely speak for the yearning she feels.

“I’ve always liked smaller breasts. A good mouthful, you know.” With that, he glances up at her. “What would I have done if I had mated with Morgana?” He smiles boyishly, and with just those words, Freya somehow begins to feel sexier than both Morgana and Allison.

She smiles. Percy thumbs at her nipple, pulling a gasp from her lips. “Do you know what else I find incredibly sexy?” Percy asks her.

“W-what?” Freya squeaks.

“Two things, actually. Percy leans forward. “One, inexperienced girls.” He looks at her. “And two,” he leans down and slowly runs his tongue over and around her nipple, wetting it completely. Freya whimpers.  He looks at her and smiles hugely. “Lovers who vocalize their pleasure.”

Freya smiles back at him.

“If you trust me, Freya, this mating won’t be half as difficult has you seem to think it will be,” Percy tells her. Freya nods her assent, and Percy goes back to licking her nipple. He does the same to the other until she’s brought her hands up to clutch as his head. Taking the rosy nub between his lips, he sucks it to a stiff, hard peak before turning his attention to the other. At that point, Freya’s heat is mounting.

“There’s a lot more I’d like to do with you, little Freya, Percy tells her, but we need to mate.” He lies back. “Come straddle me. That way you can control things.”

Freya looks doubtfully at Percy’s huge erection curving upward from his body, but she does as he says.

“Rise up and lower yourself onto it. Don't worry--you can take me.”

As Freya watches how much pleasure Percy gets from each bit that goes inside of her, Freya tries harder to push more in. They kiss, and the feel of his tongue in her mouth helps her to relax. He thumbs her nipples, pinching them, making her squirm and sigh, and he thrusts a bit upward. She looks down and finds she’s more than halfway in, the thickest part of his phallus pushing against her barrier. Her thighs are straining. When Freya feels something inside her pop, she gives a little sigh and experimentally pushes down. Surprisingly, it actually feels rather good.

“Oh!” she says, wide-eyed, and Percy smiles a slow, sexy smile that makes her produce more fluid in a gush. She begins to bounce, her little breasts moving, catching Percy’s attention like he’s hypnotized, and, for the first time, Freya feels the power of her sex. She reaches down and touches her alpha’s nipples, scratching them with her fingernails, and he moans. She circles with her hips, and lowers herself the rest of the way, feeling his knot enter her and begin to grow, his balls smacking against her bottom as he gives a few good thrusts that make her scream his name out, grasping his shoulders for purchase.

This brings Will to the door, opening it to make sure everything’s all right. Freya, back arched in an exquisite orgasm—her first—seems to be more than fine, so he retreats.

Tied, Percy pulls Freya toward him and lets down his canines, biting her neck fiercely; the painful pleasure bringing forth a second orgasm that rocks her body and releases his knot, making him come inside her.

“Holy wolf mother!” Freya screams, her body jolting at the sensation overload. When Percy releases her neck, she swears she can see the tip of his cock poking her skin from the inside of her abdomen. He fingers the bundle of muscles between her folds, and she shivers.

Percy pulls out and helps Freya to lie down on her stomach. Moments later, just as she’s falling into a blissful sleep, Freya feels Percy nudging her legs apart and sliding into her from behind. She gasps, but it’s much easier this time.

“Practice makes perfect,” he says into her ear, kissing it. They fit tightly together, and this position is good. Freya finds herself moaning and wiggling as Percy lets himself go and pounds into her, the bed rocking. She remembers what he said and doesn’t hold back, either, panting and begging and telling him how good it feels and how huge he is as her passion mounts to epic proportions she honestly never thought possible. She doesn’t realize that her very innocence keeps her from sounding like a cheesy porn star, and Percy is soon knotting her again.

They spend the rest of the night in that bedroom, Percy knotting Freya several times, usually from the back or side, until it is no longer an uncomfortable experience for her.

She awakens at daylight, cradled in his arms.


	14. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I couldn't fit any actual plot into that last chapter! ;) Couldn't tell which pairing you were happier about...Preya or Limon???

“Let’s get back to our house,” Merlin says, picking up the basket of pups. “They’re making a heck of a lot of noise in there.” He indicates the next room where the bed keeps pounding against the wall, and Freya continually lets out breathy moans of pleasure.

“Merlin, _we_ were making a heck of a lot of noise up to a few minutes ago,” Arthur rejoins sleepily, face buried in the pillow.

“I want to be in our own bed.” Merlin says, pouting. Arthur sighs and gets up, following his mate out the door, knowing there’s no use in arguing. Gwaine and Nim have fallen asleep in the main room, wrapped in furs with their pups beside them. Mordred and Cenred have taken another room with their pups, and it looks like everyone else has gone home except for Ewan, who’s asleep on the couch.

They climb the stairs. Outside, the moon is waning and the night air is cool. Night bugs have quieted, and the crickets have taken up chirping all around the ranch. Arthur leads the way to their house, which is just past the main ranch house. When they enter, he takes the basket from Merlin and puts the pups in their pen-like bed, tucking them in before joining his mate in their larger bed, snuggling up to him. Merlin’s body’s hot, his heat keeping him on a low simmer. Arthur slips his cock between the cheeks of Merlin’s arse, inside where it’s wet and tight, with a contented sigh, just wanting to be connected with him as they sleep. He knows that when Merlin’s next bout of heat comes on, he’ll automatically push back against him, and their rut will begin naturally before they even completely awaken. They’ve done it before—awakened to find themselves already tied together.

Arthur does awaken this way some time later, but rather than pushing back against Arthur, Merlin, lost in the throes of a dream, tugs uncomfortably at their connection, threatening to pull the knot from his rim.

“Merlin,” Arthur says into his ear. “Wake up.”

Merlin murmurs something, and Arthur tries thrusting into him, hard. Merlin gasps.

“Kilgharrah,” Merlin says loudly, and opens his eyes.

He looks over his shoulder at Arthur, blinking furiously.

“Well, this is the first time you’ve called me by someone else’s name while we’re in bed,” Arthur says wryly, brow arching. “Should I be worried?”

“What?” Merlin asks, and then Arthur’s knot breaks, and they both lose themselves in sensation for several long moments until Arthur completely empties himself inside Merlin.

“You called me Kilgharrah,” Arthur finally tells him when Merlin’s rolled over to face him.

“I did?”

“You were dreaming. I had to wake you up before you pulled my knot out.”

“I was having a dream,” Merlin’s eyes get a far-away look. “At least, I think it was a dream. It was so strange.”

“Isn’t Kilgarrah the name of the Father Wolf?” Arthur asks, and Merlin nods slowly.

“Was it a kinky dream?” Arthur asks.

“Gods, no!” Merlin shrinks back. “Ew! He’s got to be, what? Thousands of years old? Arthur!”

Arthur laughs.

“I had a dream about a cave that was lit from within,” Merlin tells him. “And a voice that spoke to me, and he said he was Kilgharrah.” Merlin rolls to his back and stares at the dark ceiling above them.

“What else did he say?” Arthur asks, playing with the hairs on Merlin’s forearm.

“You woke me up.” It’s a statement, and not an untruth. However, it isn’t an answer. Merlin leans up on his elbow and looks down at Arthur, whom he loves more than anyone, anywhere, the gods help him—even his children.  He bends down and kisses Arthur gently, and then more hungrily. He doesn’t want to tell Arthur what Kilgharrah said to him in the dream. Not yet, anyway.

~~~

Percy rolls over, snoring lightly. Freya’s been awake for a while. She doesn’t want to awaken Percy just yet. The sun’s up, she knows, so she tip-toes out into the other room to see who’s out there. Ewan’s sitting up on the couch, looking miserable.

“Hi, Ewan. Did Agravaine go home?” she asks quietly so as not to disturb Gwaine, Nim, and their pups.

“He had a lot of work to do in the hay field,” Ewan answers. “I can’t complain. He was here for me a lot last night.” Ewan shivers. “It’s just really difficult sometimes, being the only unmated omega in the pack.”

Freya cuddles up to him. “I’m so sorry, Ewan. But please don’t go to the Freemont pack. They’re awful.”

“I really don’t want to,” Ewan sighs. “I’m just worried that something bad’s going to happen.”

“You can’t keep the peace.”

“Freya?” Percy’s voice makes Freya tingle all over, and she can’t help but smile. She turns around.

“Good morning,” she says, loving the way Percy looks, all bed-rumpled with his loin cloth crooked. Ewan looks away, embarrassed.

“Let’s go home,” she says. “I’ll cook us some breakfast. Ewan, come join us.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Ewan says. “I’ll cook something here for myself.”

“No, come with us,” Freya tells him. She looks to Percy.

“Please join us,” he says to Ewan, and he says it so genuinely, Ewan smiles and gets up, going with them.

~~~

Lance sits in the cool spring trying to pretend he did not have a man up his arse just an hour ago. He does not like men that way. He never has. And he’s a beta, not an omega. What’s happening to him, anyway? All these changes…all this energy, and the way he’s wanted to be near people, ever since…ever since he got better. Ever since that dream.

Could it be? Could he really have spoken to the Father Wolf in the dream? Could he really have chosen his destiny when he drank from that stream? _Could Kilgharrah have changed him into an omega?_

And what about what Simon had said? Was he really Simon’s true mate? He reaches up, fingers exploring his neck where Simon bit it. He closes his eyes, feels the other man breathing in the darker part of the cave—feels Simon’s heart beating.

Lance’s eyes pop open, and he resists the urge to go to him. He thinks about Simon’s tall, lean figure. His curious, light-green eyes, his dark lashes and black slashes for eyebrows. The thick black hair, curling at the nape, which Lance would like to run his fingers through—tug on so he can kiss those bow-shaped lips. Lance thinks about what it felt like to have Simon forcing him open, making him submit. He shudders with the need to do it all again. Lance wants to go in there and point his arse in the air, bare his neck to his alpha.

“Gods preserve me,” Lance whispers, sinking deeper into the water.

 

 


	15. Autumn Closing In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another quick offering before work. Thought we'd take a look at another family for a bit.

Odin, Eira, Lamia, and Bronwyn are on their way back from town, their wagons full of supplies. Sometimes Bronwyn wishes they could ride the horses; they’re such sleek, beautiful animals, but they smell the wolf on them and refuse to let them get near. They have to rely on the Brightons to deal with the animals. She sighs. The days are getting really short now, autumn closing in, bringing with it the sharp smell of decaying leaves. Bronwyn rather fancies it, but Eira hates it. She says her mother died in the autumn, in an accidental fire. She’s a quiet girl, and Odin’s favorite, Bronwyn thinks, even though she can’t bear him children.

And that’s really what’s got Bronwyn feeling so special today—she’s pretty sure she’s with pups. Odin told her he suspects so, too. She doesn’t know why it’s taken so long, but she’s very excited. Lamia’s excited, too, for she loves children and has been watching Bronwyn like one watches the oven for cookies to get through baking.

Up ahead a wagon has pulled to the side of the road and, as they draw closer, Bronwyn recognizes Declan, the leader of the Freemont pack, and his mate, Phineas. They’ve gotten out, and Phineas, heavy with pups, is on all fours. Declan has just taken out his large alpha cock and bared Phineas’s arse for penetration.

“What in the…” Bronwyn starts to say.

“Just look straight ahead,” Odin orders.

Bronwyn does, and so do Eira and Lamia. After they pass, Odin says, “I expect it would just give the bastard a charge if we acted horrified, and further embarrass his omega. Better to ignore it.”

“He’s truly loathsome,” Lamia seethes. “It didn’t look like they were in the throes of heat.”

“No, I’d say Declan just had an urge, or perhaps it was punishment of some sort,” Odin surmises stoically.

Lamia draws in a sharp breath, her eyes wide. “Punishment? Sex?”

Odin laughs deep in his belly, as though he’s truly amused that she can’t fathom it.

Bronwyn leans in and whispers in Lamia’s ear, “Remember, I told you of Will’s punishment after the bonfire…”

“But he _liked_ that!” Lamia and Bronwyn burst into giggles.

Odin shakes his head indulgently as they enter the gates of the ranch and pull up in front of the house, Jordan Brighton dismounting from the front of the wagon to take care of the horse.

“Now, now, ladies.”

Eira looks at him from beneath her lashes and moves one of her delicate hands onto his big leg, gliding it so that her fingers just brush the outline of his cock under his loin cloth. He winks at her. “Let’s get the wagon unloaded, shall we? Then perhaps we’ll have an afternoon nap.” He spots Ewan walking toward the main house. “Say, Ewan! Will you lend us a hand?”

Ewan comes over and gladly helps with the boxes of supplies.

“Let my mates feed you some good lunch, man, you could use a little fat on those bones,” Odin tells him good-naturedly, for all the alphas have taken to spoiling Ewan a bit since he lost his alpha in the caves.

Ewan smiles, taking a seat after the boxes are all unloaded. “Thanks, Odin, that’s very kind of you.”

Odin takes a seat in his big chair at the head of the table, pulling Eira down on his lap. She begins feeding him grapes, popping them into his mouth one at a time as he tells Ewan about town. Odin mentions what they saw on the side of the road, and Ewan cringes.

“Things like that are meant for the privacy of one’s home,” Lamia says, leaning down to kiss Odin. She glances at Ewan. “Don’t you agree, Ewan?”

Ewan has, on more than one occasion, joined their little family for a little afternoon fun. He nods now, in heat, his interested cock tenting his loin cloth.

Odin nods to Lamia, and she kneels in front of Ewan, lifting the cloth with a sly smile and admiring his cock. “Such a pretty, fat, omega cock,” she coos, and Ewan moans, thrusting it toward her face. She puts out her tongue, teasing him with the tip. Odin reaches around Eira and pulls the string of Lamia’s top covering, exposing her milky white breasts to Ewan, whose cock begins to leak clear fluid.

“It’s crying,” Lamia laughs.

“Enough teasing,” Odin tells her. “Suck it.”

Lamia immediately obeys her alpha, taking Ewan’s thick cock into her mouth and hollowing her cheeks. Ewan leans his head back and sighs. After a moment, she draws off, and pulling his cock upward, takes his balls between her lips.

“Oh, oh Lamia…” he moans.

Odin watches, pleased, his hand moving down between Eira’s legs and under her cloth, beginning to rub gently. She lies back on his shoulder, writhing her arse against him. Bronwyn is content to cook while this goes on, the sounds of their pleasure rising behind her back as she stirs the stew and puts the bread in the oven. She recognizes the moment that Odin breeches Eira by the familiar sound of her gasp, and then the rhythmic slapping of his large balls on her arse. She hears Ewan come, and glances over her shoulder to see that he’s pushed Lamia back on the table and has buried his face under her skirt. That table will have to be cleaned before they can eat off it.

~~~

“Here you are,” Simon’s voice startles Lance, and he flounders in the water.

“Are you trying to drown me?” Lance asks crossly.

“Are you avoiding me?” Simon counters.

“Yes,” Lance answers, climbing out of the water, his body shining and wet. His limbs tremble a little.

“Let me help you,” Simon comes forward.

“Don’t touch me!” Lance almost shouts, and Simon freezes in his tracks.

“Lance…”

“Just…just stay away from me,” Lance tells him. “Far away.” He moves out of the cave and into the sunshine, leaving Simon staring after him.


	16. Soul Bound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't get another chapter written last night. Someone *coughArchangelRomancough* kept me busy.  
> Lol. Here's a pretty much no plot interlude. Will be moving on with plot next, really.

Simon tries very hard not to get discouraged, but it’s difficult when he’s found his true mate and that true mate won’t even look at him. This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be.

Simon’s absolutely besotted at this point; Lance is gorgeous. Every moment he looks at the omega, he falls more and more in love with him. Those even, white teeth that Simon just wants to lick but that never flash in a smile for him; those incredible biceps that strain when Lance moves the heavy rocks from the cave entrance--amazing thighs and buttocks straining at the same time below the graceful arch of a back, culminating in the broad, massive shoulders that Simon only got to grasp once while thrusting into wet, tight, heat…. Simon feels he could write poetry about them all.

He grabs his cock, squeezing it, and catches motion out of the corner of his eye—Lance, quickly turning his face away. Perhaps his omega isn’t as immune to him as he claims.

For some reason, Lance insists he isn’t omega, and indeed, it seems that, somehow, he once was not. Gwaine and Arthur had said that Lance was a beta. Simon doesn’t know how this could be possible, but he isn’t one to spend unnecessary time pondering on the how’s when that isn’t going to change things. The fact is, Lance is now an omega. _Simon’s omega_. And every alpha instinct within Simon wants to have him, particularly now that he’s claimed him.

Simon thinks he knows what he has to do.

He ignores Lance. Completely ignores him. He goes to bathe in the spring, spending a long time washing himself and then just soaking, not even casting a look Lance’s way, knowing his alpha testosterone is heavy in the air and working on the omega’s defenses naturally.

Simon leans his head back on a smooth stone, closing his eyes and waiting until a strong surge of heat comes over Lance and he’s at his weakest. He smells the sweet omega pheromones wafting in the air, mixing with his own alpha scent as though the molecules themselves are mating.

It takes everything within Simon to stay still in the water. His cock has already risen and the head pokes out into open air, teased by the feeling of water droplets drying there. He opens he legs a little and thrusts up, enjoying the feeling. He lets out a moan.

Simon senses rather than hears Lance's approach. 

And then the water moves, lapping around Simon’s body, but still Simon doesn’t open his eyes. He grows harder, more of his alpha cock rising out of the water, the knot at the base aching.

A whisper, so low Simon almost can’t make it out. “I don’t know who I am anymore, but may the gods help me…I want you. I have to have you. I feel as though I was made for you, and it terrifies me, Simon.”

Simon still doesn’t open his eyes. Slowly he opens his arms instead, letting them float on the water. “I’m yours,” he says quietly. 

Several long moments tick by with only the sound of Lance’s harsh breathing to fill them. Finally, Simon hears the water trickle around him as Lance moves slowly forward. Simon strains to stay still. He wonders, if he had been raised as other alphas, could he even accomplish this when in rut? He lets his mind drift as he used to do when a child. When Rex would…

His thoughts are broken when something warm and wet touches his left nipple, making it pebble. Simon fights not to jerk at the touch, but he lets out the vaguest of grunts of pleasure when the lick turns into a suckle. A moment later, that stops, and Simon feels a hand slide under his buttocks, buoying him up, bringing his groin fully out of the water.

Lance’s mouth suddenly manifests lower-- sucking on Simon’s sensitive knot. The sensation is so wondrous, Simon jolts back, knocking his head on the stone beneath it. Everything goes black for a few seconds and then bright, bright white. Lance doesn’t even notice he’s knocked Simon unconscious for a brief moment; he’s still suckling away on the growing knot, his fingers manipulating the heavy balls beneath like he’s playing an instrument.

Lance licks all the way up Simon’s cock, and Simon cracks his eyes open because he has to see it. Lance is gorgeous. Simon bites his lip when Lance ducks beneath the water and comes up between Simon’s legs, lifting them up high. He’s curled, exposed. Simon breathes hard, watching as Lance continues to orally assault him. The prolonged moans and whimpers that keep coming out of Simon’s mouth are noises he doesn’t even recognize—he sounds wanton and…and…he’s at a loss to describe it. The whole thing is frankly backward. He’s the alpha. He should be taking charge; yet somehow he knows it has to be this way, at least this time. If he wants the trust of his omega, he has to submit to him now. He’s already decided he’s going to let Lance bite him so they can bond. That he wants that—very much.

When Lance’s tongue pushes inside Simon’s anus, the gibberish that comes out of Simon’s mouth sounds both ridiculous and familiar. It’s reminiscent of what Simon’s heard chanted at Beltane by the traveling _were_ priests. A buzz sets up in his head as his pleasure mounts.

 _This is my gift to you._ Simon hears these words spoken in a raspy voice he’s never heard before. _Treasure him._

Simon begins to writhe and call out Lance’s name.  Lance releases Simon, letting him unfurl, and prods him until he fully lies out of the water and upon the smooth stone. Lance straddles Simon, moving upward until his cock juts into Simon’s face.

While alpha male cocks are large and from ten to as long as fifteen inches, omega cocks are shorter, usually five or six inches long, but very fat. A beta’s cock, however, is normally seven to nine inches long and fairly thin. Although he is now an omega, Lance still has the beta cock he was born with. Simon eagerly takes the long, thin cock into his mouth as far as he can, and Lance aggressively shoves it in, gagging Simon. Simon takes it, drool spilling over his lips, as he grabs hold of Lance’s firm thighs.

Lance continues to fuck Simon’s mouth until warm, sweet omega cum coats Simon’s tongue, and Lance shudders, his entire body quivering deliciously. Then Lance backs up and squats, pushing down onto Simon by increments, is arse dripping with oestrum, his face zoned out with repletion. Simon takes over, grabbing hold of Lance’s hands and thrusting up, fucking rhythmically, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, hard strokes and then slipping his knot in, making Lance shout as it passes his rim. Simon pushes to a seated position, gathering Lance close.

“Bite my neck,” he tells Lance. “I’m yours…your true mate. I’ve bitten you, now bite me and we’re bound together forever.” He pushes his growing knot against Lance’s prostate. Lance comes with a cry, staring into Simon’s eyes.

Lance leans in, surprising Simon with a kiss, tongue moving through Simon’s mouth in a sweeping line before lingering to slide against Simon’s tongue, swiveling his hips until Simon whimpers, knot bursting. He shoots inside of Lance, seeing stars, and feels Lance’s mouth leave his, then sharp canines piercing into the sensitive flesh of Simon’s neck, pain mingling with pleasure, orgasm intensifying almost unbearably.

This time, Lance doesn’t turn away when Simon withdraws, but allows Simon to lead him to the furs and wrap around him for a nap together.


	17. Pack Relations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 I enjoy hearing from you. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. I'm glad that busy week is over! I hope things fall into place more this week for me.

Nim nurses her pups to sleep, petting their soft heads. Pip is bigger than Mary, and Nim has to keep them well separated, or Pip tries to nudge his sister off the teat.

While Nim nurses, she watches Sophia and Gwaine fucking on the furs nearby. Privately Gwaine has confided that, although he cares about Sophia and even loves her, and he does enjoy her body, he doesn’t enjoy being inside her quite as much as he does with Nim because betas don’t stay as wet and hot as omegas do. Right now, though, you wouldn’t be able to tell it to look at him. His face is red with effort, and his alpha cock is engorged and stiff, withdrawing almost completely before surging back in. Sophia lies on her back, legs draped over Gwaine’s arms, large breasts bouncing with every thrust.

Both Nim and Sophia have expressed a desire to watch Gwaine be fucked, but the alpha has adamantly refused, stating that there’s no way in hell he’d let a man do that to him. So they questioned whether he’d be willing to bring a man into their family and fuck him in front of them. Gwaine said he would consider that, and they mentioned Ewan. The question now is, would Ewan be interested?

Nim finishes nursing, shifts into human form, and settles the pups in their basket.

“Merlin insists that we go visit the Freemont omegas in a gesture of goodwill,” she tells her mates, lying down on the furs beside them and fiddling with Sophia’s blonde hair.

“An alpha will be going with our group, right?” Sophia asks a little breathlessly, hands clutching at the furs.

Nim raises a brow. “Do you really think Arthur would let Merlin go without one? I’m sure he’ll be the one to go, in fact, and if he can’t, he’ll probably ask Gwaine to go. Or Percy. But he’s backing Merlin up because he says good relations between the two packs are important, and he’s going to have to tell Declan soon that Ewan doesn’t want to be a part of the Freemont pack.”

“Declan’s not going to be happy about that,” Sophia replies.

Gwaine moans, slipping his knot inside Sophia, and, letting go her legs, leans down onto his elbows. He kisses her and then Nim, their tongues mingling.

“My pretty mates,” he says. “How did I get so lucky? Although your penchant for chatting during sex is a little off-putting.” He gives a thrust, his cock tip pushing against Sophia’s cervix and a flush runs over her body. She cries out, arching into him.

“I’m getting jealous,” Nim pouts prettily, milk dripping from her nipples. She leans forward, and both of her mates lean in to have a taste. Gwaine reaches over to give her pleasure between her legs as his knot releases and he comes inside of Sophia.

After, as the three of them lie together, he asks lazily, “So when is this trip to the Freemont pack?”

“Oh!” Nim says, sitting up abruptly. “In an hour! I’d better get the bread and other things I made together.” She hops up. “Sophie, will you watch Pip and Mary while I’m gone? Gwaine, I guess since you haven’t heard from Arthur, that means you aren’t going.”

“I might just go anyway. I don’t trust those people,” Gwaine tells her, rising to his feet.

~~~

The group of omegas plus Arthur, Gwaine, and Percy leave for the Freemont ranch in the late afternoon.

It’s a pleasant day in late September, the trees have begun to turn colour, and the air is cool and inviting. When they reach the gates, the beta guards stop them.

“Arthur Pendragon, Alpha leader, with my second, and another alpha, come with my omegas to visit with your pack omegas,” Arthur informs them.

The betas confer before letting them pass, and one of them goes to get their leader.

They return long moments later with Declan, who probably made them all wait on purpose. He eyes them warily. “What’s this I hear about visiting my omegas?” he asks, hands on hips.

“My omegas have brought some gifts for yours. They enjoy congregating,” Arthur answers. “I thought it might be a good time for the alphas to have a discussion. I’ve brought my second, and another alpha from my pack.”

Declan nods, his eyes seeking out Ewan among the omegas. “Alright. The omega den is that way. Phineas!” he barks, and his pregnant omega seems to materialize out of nowhere. Phineas motions to Merlin and leads the Pendragon omegas around a corner and into a long house. It’s dark and cool inside, although unfurnished. There are quite a few omegas gathered—nearly double those in Pendragon pack.

Merlin feels a hand grasp one of his and glances over to see Freya, her eyes wide. He squeezes her fingers.

“Phineas,” he tells the Freemont Vixen, offering him the basket he holds in the other hand, “we brought things to share. Bread, and other baked goods. Chocolate.” At the second word, several of the Freemont omegas gasp with delight, including Nim’s sister, Erynn.

Phineas takes it, his eyes unreadable. He sets it on the floor, and nods at another omega to come forward and distribute the goodies. With difficulty, Phineas lowers himself onto a mat on the floor. Merlin reaches out and grasps his arm, helping him. Phineas looks surprised, but accepts the help.

“You’re so handsome,” Merlin tells him. “The colour of your skin…Where are you from?”

“I don’t know,” Phineas answers after a moment. “Another continent.”

“That’s a beautiful ring,” Freya whispers, reaching out to touch the large ruby with the gold setting with her fingertip.

“Thank you,” Phineas says in a voice that is stronger than he’s used before in his alpha’s presence, rich like heavy cream. “I am told it was a gift from my mother.”

“When are you coming to live with us?” Erynn asks Ewan.

“I’m not going to,” Ewan tells her, looking at the floor.

Obviously shocked by this, Phineas blurts out, “Declan will not be pleased.” His face shows traces of fear.

“It’s not like it’s your fault,” Will tells him. To Merlin’s mind, Will seems to be holding back—weighing his words carefully. Undoubtedly remembering the last time they visited the Freemont pack.

“Will he hurt you?” Freya asks, finally letting go of Merlin’s hand and sidling up to sit beside Phineas.

Phineas looks away, not answering.

A pretty omega with round grey eyes introduces herself as Connie.  “This chocolate is wonderful! I haven’t had any in so long.”

“We used to live near a city that sold it,” Bronwyn tells her.

“It’s so nice of you to share it. We can’t get it here,” another omega says.

“When are your pups due?” Mordred asks Phineas.

“In a couple of weeks,” Phineas answers.

“Your first?” Merlin asks him.

“I’ve been pregnant before. I lost the others,” Phineas replies.

“I’m sorry,” Freya tells him quietly. “Bronwyn’s with pups.”

Bronwyn nods, smiling.

Phineas lies back and winces.

“Does your back hurt?” Freya asks. When Phineas nods, she coaxes him to roll onto his side. “I’ll rub it.”

When he does, the smile drops from Freya’s face. Merlin bends to see what she’s staring at and finds that there are black, green, and purplish bruises all over Phineas’s otherwise smooth, olive skin.

“What happened?” he asks Phineas.

“What do you mean?” Phineas asks, looking over his shoulder.

“Your back…all the bruising…” Merlin touches them gently with careful fingers.

“Oh,” Phineas turns away. “That’s where Declan kicked me the other night. He was angry about something. I forget what it was now.”

None of the other Freemont omegas seem surprised or particularly fazed by the statement, but all the Pendragon omegas are as horrified as Merlin and Freya.

“That’s terrible!” Freya breathes.

“That arsehole!” It’s out of Will’s mouth before he can stop it, and the omega actually slaps his hand over his lips as though he can push the words back in.

Mordred nods. “You’re right, Will.”

“Do all your alphas hurt you?” Merlin asks the group.

“Mine doesn’t hurt me that badly,” Connie tells him. “He’s slapped me before.”

Another nods.

“Don’t your alphas hit you?” A man named Samuel asks.

The Pendragon omegas shake their heads.

“I thought that was just the way it was,” Erynn says. “They did it in the east, too. Actually, it was worse there. Ask Nim.”

“It _was_ worse there,” Mordred agrees. “I’ve seen a lot worse before.”

Merlin stands, outraged. “That doesn’t mean that this isn’t despicable. I’m going to speak to Arthur.”

“No!” Will grabs Merlin’s arm. “Merlin, don’t.”

Merlin tries to shake Will off, but his friend is tenacious and also strong. He finally manages to pull Merlin into a corner and whispers fiercely at him. “If you do that, you’re only going to make things worse for them. Their alphas will be angry for talking about them, and then what do you think they’ll do? And what will happen if Arthur tries to intervene for them?”

Merlin stares into Will’s brown eyes, heart beating fast. He can’t stand the idea of the way the alphas treat their mates in this pack, but when he stops to think about it, he knows Will is right.

“What can we do to help them?” he asks Will.

Will lets go of Merlin’s arm. “I’m not sure, but we’ll think of something. Right now being their friends might be the only thing we can do.” They walk back to where Freya rubs Phineas’s sore back. Ewan looks up at them with worried eyes.

“Don’t even think about it,” Merlin says to him. “It won’t matter in the long run anyway.” He sits down next to him. “By the way, you’ve got several families in our pack wanting to mate with you. Odin. Gwaine. Percy. Who do you want to mate with?”

Ewan looks surprised. “Percy wants to mate with me?” His eyes move to Freya, who smiles at him over her shoulder.

“Don’t you want to be mates with us, Ewan?” she asks.

“You’ve only just finally mated with Percy,” Ewan says. “Wouldn’t you like him all to yourself?”

“I think it would be nice to have two male mates,” Freya blushes, looking down at Phineas’s back as she continues to rub at it in soothing circles. It appears as though the handsome, pregnant omega has fallen asleep under her ministrations.

Ewan smiles back, and then looks at Merlin. “I really don’t know,” he tells him in a low voice. “Honestly, no matter whom I choose, I feel a bit like a third wheel. I feel like everyone’s asking me out of pity because I lost my mate. In Odin’s case, I’d be his fourth mate. In Gwaine’s, third. In Percy’s, second. It would be really nice to be someone’s first mate.”

“But not nice enough to make joining this pack a good idea,” Merlin tells him. “The only unmated Alpha we have in our pack is Agravaine, and he seems unwilling to mate at all.”

“There’s Simon,” Ewan says.

Merlin nods. “He, too, seems unwilling to mate. You have no preference, Ewan?”

“Truthfully, Vixen, I prefer female alphas. I actually am _attracted_ to Brionna. It wasn’t such a big sacrifice to go with her at the bonfire.”

As though mentioning her name conjures her, Brionna appears in the doorway, and Merlin again thinks her a very attractive woman in outer appearance.

Tall, slender, with long hair the colour of weak tea, her hips are narrow, and her breasts high and small. A beaded skirt covers her lower region as she stands, self-assured in the doorway, blue eyes scanning the room until they alight on Ewan. She sniffs the air with her long, patrician nose. Ewan’s heat ended days ago and they thought he was safe, but she obviously scents it. He’s no match for her alpha desires, and immediately strips his shorts and T-shirt with trembling hands, kneeling to present for her.

Merlin moves away, glad to know that the omega at least feels attraction for Brionna. He goes to sit on a fur in the corner, fascinated to watch a female alpha for the first time. Will moves to press in next to him, head on his shoulder, and Merlin wraps and arm around him.  He’s proud of Will and the way he’s held himself in check today.

In a sensual move, Brionna removes her beaded skirt, casting it aside. She sniffs at Ewan’s backside, then licks at it, urging him to open his legs wider. She laps eagerly at his rim, using her hand between his legs on his pudgy cock, milking it while Ewan moans loudly. The rest of the omegas have pushed to the sides of the room, and they eat their chocolate and bread, licking their fingers and snuggling together, some paying attention to the rutting and some not.

Merlin’s eyes are riveted to Brionna’s alpha genitals. He watches her odd female alpha clitoris grow, curving outward into a thin bow, thinking about the barb that will latch onto Ewan’s prostate. The labia flaps descend. She gives Ewan’s rim a few more licks and nibbles from her front teeth before lowering her head, bringing his fat cock back to give a quick lick before she finally mounts him, her thin clitoris-penis smoothly entering his quivering hole. Merlin knows from the descriptions of others that it flutters once inside. He watches Ewan’s eyes roll back in his head and mouth drop open as Brionna begins to thrust, labia flaps quickly filling with sperm.

Ewan cries out, obviously enjoying the experience. Bronwyn, who sits on the other side of Merlin, leans over and whispers in Merlin’s ear, “He never enjoys Odin this much.”

The moment when Brionna’s barb sinks in is obvious—Ewan’s face flushes with extreme pleasure, his body trembling beneath hers.

Later, both Merlin and Mordred say they could literally kick themselves for not realizing and stopping it before it happens. Brionna is lightning fast; she has her canines in Ewan’s neck before anyone blinks. She and Ewan are mated. He’s part of their pack.

And they must leave him behind.


	18. The Fall Out

“And just what exactly do you expect me to do about it, Merlin?” Arthur asks, eyes flashing gold at him for the first time in their mated life when sex wasn’t involved.  Merlin immediately backs down, instinct too strong to allow him to stand against an enraged alpha, particularly his own.

“Ewan presented to her. She took him and gave him the mating bite. They are mated, alpha and omega. I cannot break it. He’s a Freemont now. A part of their pack. You must accept it. He must accept it. I expect he already has.” Arthur walks out the door, and Merlin is left miserable. He is angry, but more at himself than anyone else. Why, oh why didn’t he see it coming? Brionna must have heard Arthur tell her brother that Ewan would not mate with her, and she went straight to the omega den. All of them had just stood there and watched it happen. So stupid!

Mordred peers around the front door. “Is the coast clear?” he asks. Merlin nods, and Mordred slips in, setting his basket of pups on the floor. They topple out, quickly shifting into babies. Harry gets to his feet first, more sure-footed than the other two, and helps both his brothers up. They toddle into the play room where squeals of greetings can be heard from Merlin’s brood.

“What did Arthur say?” Mordred asks, taking a seat beside him on the couch.

“That there’s nothing he can do,” Merlin mutters pensively.

“I suspected as much.” Mordred leans back on a pillow. "We really let Ewan down. We shouldn’t have taken him with us.”

“We shouldn’t have done a lot of things,” Merlin replies with a sigh. He shakes his head. “Gods, I’d like to get the lot of them out of there. Phineas is pitiful. When I first met him, I thought he was a real arse. But who wouldn’t be in that situation? And what he said about losing his first litter-- I bet Declan made him lose them. I bet he beat them out of him.”

“We don’t know that,” Mordred says, but he looks like he thinks it, too. He wraps an arm around Merlin. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, Merlin. I know you feel like you’re responsible for all the omegas, but we were all there. We all just watched. Ewan told you that he liked being fucked by her. He did it willingly at the bonfire. When she came down the stairs, he presented to her. None of us expected her to bite him—we should have, but we didn’t. So it’s not all on you.”

Merlin puts his head on Mordred’s shoulder. “Thanks, Mordred,” he says. Sounds of quarreling babies bring them both off the couch and into the playroom to split up Benjamin and Merlin Jr., who both want to play with the stuffed unicorn.

It isn’t long before Cenred comes looking for Mordred and his sons, claiming he’s starving after a day of storing hay.

“Okay,” Mordred says, lifting Harry and Joey up and putting them in Cenred’s arms, then carrying Benny himself. “I’ll see you later, Merlin.”

They leave, and Merlin’s left to get the four girls into the bathtub while the boys play in the pen. Arthur comes back during this time, and Merlin hears him playing with the boys and then sounds of dinner being prepared. When Merlin has the girls clean and dried off, he gets the boys and repeats the process. If the tub were big enough, he would have just put them all in together, but it’s probably better this way, since Arthur Jr. tends to be a bit rough with his sisters, and sometimes Hunith tugs on Merlin Jr.’s penis and makes him cry.

When all the children are clean, Merlin and Arthur feed them. Merlin has just weaned them, and they are eating all solid foods. By the time they’re finished, the kitchen’s a mess. Arthur puts them to bed, and Merlin clears the table. When Arthur returns, he puts his arms around Merlin’s waist, kissing his cheek. “Leave this until morning.” He squeezes him tightly. “I need to be with you.”

They go into the bedroom and fall into the bed, nude bodies pressed together. “I don’t like quarreling with you,” Arthur says miserably.

“I don’t either,” Merlin tells him. He nestles into Arthur’s neck, seeking the comfort of his scent. He licks the scar of Arthur’s mark, making his mate shiver. “I know you can’t do anything, Arthur. I’m really only upset with myself. I let Ewan down.”

Arthur shushes him, kissing Merlin’s mouth, sucking on Merlin’s tongue. “My soft-hearted omega,” he whispers, holding him tightly. “I love you so much.” He kisses Merlin’s neck, paying special attention to his mating bite until Merlin is soft and pliant in his arms. "How fortunate I was to find you." Arthur moves down Merlin’s chest and stomach.

“There’s my fat cock,” he croons, getting between Merlin’s legs. Merlin moans, bucking up as Arthur licks him. Arthur caresses Merlin’s balls, rolling them in his hand. “I love your prick, Merlin,” Arthur tells him, his words making Merlin impossibly hard. Arthur loosens his jaw as much as possible before wrapping his lips around the wide phallus, tasting sweet, clear pre-cum, stretching his mouth so wide it burns. Merlin keens Arthur’s name, hands grasping the sheets. “Mfgh….Arthur! Your mouth…”

Arthur slides his tongue around, pulls off, spits on Merlin’s pudgy dick, then takes it in again, moving it to the back of his throat, eyes watering as he gags on it. Merlin thrusts, and Arthur swallows around it. Arthur begins to bob, and Merlin whimpers, crying out, “Fuck, I love you, you big-mouthed bastard!” Arthur’s eyes widen a bit at that, but he keeps bobbing on Merlin’s cock until Merlin stiffens and comes with a shout. Arthur sucks it all down.

When Merlin’s recovered, he returns the favour, which has to be done differently. There’s no way possible that Merlin can deep-throat Arthur when he’s twelve-inches long. He makes up for it by making the whole thing as wet as possible and using his hands where he can’t reach with his mouth and tongue. He also spends a great deal of time sucking Arthur’s balls and his knot. Arthur doesn’t complain, particularly when Merlin hangs his head off the side of the bed and invites Arthur to fuck his mouth.

By the time they’re finished, they’re exhausted. They fall asleep within seconds of wrapping up in one another’s arms.


	19. Same Night, Different House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe this should just be called The Sex of the Wolf...  
> A little plot...at the beginning. I blame it on crescent_owl who needs her morning porn with her coffee.

“He didn’t have a choice, Mordred,” Cenred says, voice quiet in their dark bedroom. “It was Declan’s territory, Declan’s rules. We did everything wrong from the beginning. Ewan shouldn’t have been there. Ewan shouldn’t have presented. There’s nothing to do about it now, unless Arthur wants to challenge Declan, and then it’s a fight to the death, and the winner gets both packs. Is it worth the risk?”

“No,” Mordred replies quietly, slipping his finger deeper inside of Cenred, making his alpha squirm. It took a lot for Cenred to finally admit that he wanted Mordred to do this to him in bed, and even now, he’ll only allow it in complete darkness. Mordred suspects that Cenred would like more than just Mordred’s finger inside him, but as an alpha, Mordred knows Cenred will never let those words cross his lips. Mordred will give it to him, though, gladly. He just needs a signal. He carefully removes his finger and dips it in his own viscous oestrum before inserting it again. He hears Cenred’s breathing speed up, and it makes Mordred so hard, affecting Cenred this way. Cenred just makes him fucking hard in general. He’s all man, and all Mordred’s, and there’s nothing Mordred wouldn’t do for him. He crooks his finger, finding the bundle of nerves inside Cenred and pressing in on them, making the alpha jerk and moan. Mordred leans in and licks languidly at the line of Cenred’s spine.

When he reaches back to get more oestrum, he dips two fingers this time, and then inserts them, stretching Cenred out. Cenred moans deliciously, raising a strong leg and draping it back over Mordred’s.

“You’re so sexy, my alpha,” Mordred whispers in his ear, pressing himself up against Cenred’s sweat-damp back. He runs his tongue over the rim of Cenred’s ear and works over his prostate with his fingers. He adds a third, then a fourth. “So fucking hot. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Absolutely nothing. You know that, don’t you?” He senses rather than sees Cenred’s nod in the darkness.

Mordred removes his fingers, dipping them again in the wetness oozing from his own crack. This time he coats his hard, thick, prick with the oestrum and touches the tip to Cenred’s opening. He leans in and licks Cenred’s bite mark. “Alpha?” he whispers. Cenred’s panting is loud in the room. Mordred holds himself very still.

Finally, just when Mordred thinks he’s miscalculated, Cenred moves his arse backward, slowly impaling himself on Mordred’s broad prick. The sensation is pure bliss. Omegas’ pricks are incredibly fat and not for the faint-of-heart, but Mordred’s alpha is brave as well as beautiful and he takes it well, stopping only a few times to breathe in and out while Mordred presses kisses to the back of his neck and whispers words of praise.

Mordred reaches around to feel Cenred’s cock. The alpha is so turned on, his dick sticks out almost a foot in front of him, his knot firm at its base. Mordred fondles it a moment before easing out a little and then thrusting back in, bringing a low moan from Cenred’s lips.

“Gods, gods…” Cenred whispers fervently.

Mordred frankly wishes he could see better. Cenred has a really fine arse, and the thought of Mordred’s cock—with the circumference of a baseball when he’s good and hard—spreading him open—has his mouth dry. Alphas, betas, and omegas all have fast-healing rims, just as everything on them heals quickly, so if Cenred tears, it won’t bother him for long. Still, Mordred is careful and hopeful that he causes his alpha no real pain.

“So full,” Cenred groans, and Mordred thrusts again. He isn’t sure exactly what about this turns Cenred on so much, so he’s afraid to say anything in fear of spoiling the mood. Instead, he bites at Cenred’s shoulder.

Cenred pushes back into Mordred, so Mordred thrusts, and then thrusts again, working into a rhythm, his balls slapping against Cenred’s. His own orgasm starts to build. Cenred moves a bit, turning so that Mordred has to lie on his back, and then Cenred is sitting above him, back to him, riding Mordred with hands on the bed, pushing himself up and down with hips and strong legs. Mordred moans. From this position, eyes somewhat adjusted to the dark, he can make out his dick standing straight up like a thick branch and Cenred’s arse moving up and down on it. Over Cenred's shoulder, Mordred can also see Cenred’s long alpha cock waving in the air.

Cenred curses and comes, spurting to Mordred’s left onto the sheet, arse squeezing around Mordred’s cock and making him come, too. Mordred reaches up and pulls Cenred’s hips down, wrapping his legs around his waist and holding him there until the spasms end, and then rolling over on top of him, watching as he eases each inch of himself out of Cenred’s gaping hole. He leans down to lick his alpha clean, soothing the angry redness, tasting his own oestrum, continuing to lap until the pucker closes. When he’s finished, Cenred’s asleep and snoring.

Mordred cuddles up to him, covering them with the sheet.


	20. A Life, A Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains a death. (Not of a known character.) I hope I haven't been remiss on warnings; sometimes I forget them. I feel you guys will let me know, though. :)
> 
> These packs all have laws within themselves, btw. Arthur is fairly helpless to do anything about what Declan does on his territory unless he wants to fight him, which puts Arthur's entire pack on the line. It may come to that, though.

Merlin can’t get used to seeing Arthur in pants and a shirt. It seems unnatural. Sometimes, when he’s working out in the field, he takes off the shirt, but still…

This morning, Arthur Jr. throws his eggs at his father, hitting Arthur squarely in the face, the yolk dripping off onto the clean, blue pull-over.

Slowly Arthur stands up, all Alpha anger, and Arthur Jr., now usually called Artie for ease and clarification, cowers back a little in his high chair, yolk-crusty face morphing into a trembling pout.

“Well, that’s what you get for throwing breakfast at your father,” Merlin tells him testily. “Yell at him, Arthur.”

Arthur stares at his namesake, so blond, blue-eyed and red lipped, and sighs. He leaves the room to change his shirt. Artie puts his head down on the tray of his high chair and cries as though his heart will break. Merlin Jr., now called Em most of the time, bursts into commiserating tears and puts his plate of eggs on Artie’s tray. Artie looks up, sniffling, before smiling through his tears. They wind up shoving food in one another’s mouths with their pudgy fingers.

After breakfast, Merlin takes all six children outside and hoses the egg off them. Daegal and Gilli have found their niche and started a day care of sorts, and Merlin has the babies shift and leads them that way, running into Mordred and his pups half-way there.

“I thought I’d visit Phineas today, and also see how Ewan’s doing,” Merlin tells Mordred. It has been two weeks since Ewan was mated to the Freemont pack. Merlin really wants to check on him under the guise of visiting the other pack Vixen.

“May I go with you?” Mordred asks.

“Sure, I was going to ask you to. We need an alpha to go with us. Do you think Cenred would go?”

“He’s got too much work on the ranch today. Pete asked him to go over the books,” Mordred answers. “Maybe Agravaine? And I’ve been thinking…what if we took Gaius? They don’t seem to have a physician over there. Do you think Declan might like to have Phineas checked over?”

“It might make him mad,” Merlin says. “We’d better not, although we can offer his services for later. I was thinking more about Nim. But we might have to ask about that, too. She wasn’t able to go last time because Pip was sick, and she still hasn’t gotten to see Erynn. She’s so upset about it. But if we just take her today, Declan might get angry. That guy gets mad over everything. Who knows? We may not even get in the gate today.” Merlin stops at the door and knocks.

Gilli opens it, smiling broadly at all the pups yipping and running around. A cool October wind blows around them, scattering leaves, and Merlin and Mordred hurry their pups inside, telling Gilli that they’ll be back in the afternoon. They go by Mitzi’s for some fresh berries to take to the Freemont’s, and then stop at Agravaine’s to ask him to come along.

They find Agravaine sitting on his back porch reading, already finished with his morning chores. “I suppose going to see those barbarians is better than sitting here by myself,” he sighs. “Are you sure you cleared it with the Alpha?” he eyes Merlin suspiciously.

“Of course!” Merlin’s affronted. “I don’t lie to Arthur.” Sometimes he doesn’t tell him about the horrifying things he’s been dreaming lately, but he doesn’t lie to him outright. “He said it’s fine, but that we should be pleasant and behave. And that we shouldn’t take Will.”

Agravaine laughs at that, and they set off.

“Soon it will be Samhain,” Agravaine says conversationally along the way.

Mordred looks at him. “Yeah? We don’t celebrate that.”

“We don’t,” Agravaine replies, “but the Freemonts do, I’ve heard.”

“They would,” Mordred says.

“What do you mean?” Merlin asks.

“Just that I figure the way they are, they probably invite their dead ancestors to party,” Mordred laughs. “There’s nothing wrong with the holiday or festival in general, but all things creepy make me think of the Freemonts, and I’d say they’ll find a way to fuck it up.”

The walk is pleasant in the chilly October weather, and the several miles they walk go by quickly. When the three men reach the Freemont ranch gates, the beta guards recognize them.

“Friendly visit,” Agravaine tells them. “Our pack Vixen visiting yours, along with another omega. I’m the alpha chaperone.”

One beta goes to get Phineas, but of course Declan returns with him. He eyes Merlin a little suspiciously, but takes the basket of berries and escorts them to his home rather than to the omega den. He makes a big deal of showing Agravaine into his luxurious study before bringing Merlin and Mordred into the bedroom where Phineas lies on the bed.

Phineas seems very glad to see them, but defers to his alpha while he’s in the room.

“He is near his time,” Declan tells him.  “In fact, he’s over his time. We’ve heard tell that sex can bring on labour, and that’s what we were doing when you interrupted.”

“Oh, sorry,” Merlin says.

Declan whips off his loin cloth and moves behind Phineas on the bed, removing the sheet. He slaps at Phineas’s rump. “Up you go. We’ll just finish up here, then.”

“Um, we can go outside…” Merlin moves toward the door.

“No need,” Declan thrusts up into Phineas, whose swollen belly hangs low, brushing the mattress. Mordred gives Merlin a look. They both take a seat in a nearby chair.

The rutting goes on and on; like all alphas, Declan can sustain his erection for a long time. When he pulls Phineas to a kneeling position, Merlin notices that the omega’s cock isn’t even in a state of arousal.

Merlin clears his throat. “If I may point out,” Declan looks over Phineas’s shoulder, eyes lust-dazed. He seems to have forgotten that Mordred and Merlin are in the room.

“What is it?” he growls.

“Well, we do have a pack physician, and he’s spoken to us a bit about bringing on labour. And the trick to it is giving the one _pregnant_ an orgasm. Phineas is nowhere near that.” Merlin gestures to Phineas’s drooping genitals. “Perhaps if you were to suck on him?” Merlin suggests.

Phineas’s mouth drops open in shock at the suggestion.

Declan pulls out. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” he growls. “Why don’t I leave you omegas to deal with it yourselves.” He stalks out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

“What a piece of work,” Mordred whispers.

Phineas falls back onto the pillows. “I can’t believe you just said that!” He shakes his head at Merlin, rubbing his hand over his large belly and closing his eyes. “If I don’t have these pups soon, I think I’m going to die. I’m not kidding.”

Merlin and Mordred come to sit beside him on the bed, moving close to comfort their fellow omega.

“I hope I didn’t make things worse for you," Merlin tells him. "What I said is the truth. Mordred and I might be able to bring you to labour. I’m surprised the other omegas in your pack haven’t done so already, if your alpha was unwilling.”

“I don’t think they know anything about it," Phineas sighs. "We’re all from different places, and most of us have been mistreated.” He winces as his back spasms painfully.

“Omegas have been doing this for thousands of years,” Merlin tells him, smoothing the dark hair from Phineas’ eyes. “We are made to touch and be touched. We have only one alpha, but omegas are drawn to one another. We seek comfort in one another, which is why we have our own dens. We aren’t attracted sexually, but we need each others touch. We help and nurture. It’s in our nature.” While he’s speaking, Mordred has begun rubbing Phineas gently all over his body, loosening his muscles.

“Close your eyes, and picture an alpha in your mind. If your own doesn’t work for you,” Merlin tells him, sensing that this might be the case for Phineas, “picture another. The perfect alpha in your mind. Do not think of us, or this won’t work, for omegas aren’t attracted to one another. Mordred and I will get no sexual gratification out of this. We are doing this out of our omega love for you.”

Phineas closes his eyes and sighs, moves so that his legs and his arms spread out a little on the bed. He feels someone take his right foot and begin to massage, just as someone else licks playfully at his nipple. When he thinks of the omegas, or Declan, his body doesn't react, but when he lets his mind drift to other alphas he’s seen…to perhaps the handsome second of the Pendragon pack…ah, yes, he feels himself getting aroused.

"What is that man’s name? Your pack second?” Phineas whispers.

“Gwaine,” Merlin supplies, a smile in his voice.

 _Gwaine._ _Gwaine licks at Phineas’s balls with his tongue, his long brown hair sweeping over his dark eyes. He watches as Phineas squirms. Gwaine has defeated Declan—tied him up somewhere and gagged him, making him watch as he gives Phineas pleasure that Declan’s never been able to give him. Phineas spreads his legs a little more as Gwaine takes his entire ball sac into his mouth, suckling on it. Phineas moans._

_Gwaine takes Phineas’s arse in his hands and lifts it, moving down to lick at his now-oozing rim, nibbling at the sensitive edges until Phineas begs for something more. A questing finger follows, pressing, probing…_

_Then Gwaine opens his mouth, covering Phineas’ wide cock, enveloping it in wet heat. Phineas has never experienced this before and cries out, reaching over his head to grasp the wood of the head board behind him. Gwaine pinches his nipples, and a tongue enters his ear. He’s on sensory overload…fingers in arse, nipple stimulation, mouth on cock, tongue in ear…he comes with a shout, arching off the bed, white light flashing before his eyes, his entire body shuddering._

As Phineas lies there panting, white-hot pain seizes his abdomen, making him open his eyes and grab below his swollen belly.

“Oh gods! It actually worked!” he cries, staring at Mordred and Merlin in shock. “OW! I’m in labor!”

Merlin and Mordred look at one another. “We’re really good,” Mordred says, impressed, saliva and cum dripping from his chin. “Okay, shall we get Declan?” He wipes his mouth with his arm.

“No, no!” Phineas moans. “Wait a bit. It might be a while yet, and he just upsets me.”

So they sit and talk, and Merlin rubs Phineas’s head while Mordred rubs his feet. When the pains get very bad, Mordred goes and knocks at the study door, and he returns with Declan and Agravaine to find Phineas shifted and straining.

“Why’s he shifted?” Declan demands.

“It’s easier,” Merlin answers, surprised. “Don’t all of you shift when you go into labor? It’s easier to have pups, and then you have to nurse anyway.”

“No, they shift afterward.”

“But that’s so dangerous!” Merlin objects. “We have a physician, though, so I suppose there’s no way for you to know these things. Push, Phineas.”

Phineas does. It takes a few tries, but finally two pups come out one after the other, the second obviously not breathing. Agravaine takes it up, rubbing it vigorously with a towel. He tries to breathe life into it, but it’s no use.

“I’m sorry, Declan,” he tells the man.

Declan takes the pup. He looks it over and sighs. “I’m sorry to lose it, but it’s a girl. The boy survived.” He hands the dead pup to Merlin, who in turns gently sets her beside Phineas.

Declan takes up the squealing boy. “This pup is my healthy son. You did well, Phineas. For this, you rise in my esteem.” He sets the pup to suckle at Phineas’s teat and pats his omega's head. Phineas noses at the female pup, whining a little. Merlin leans down and looks into his wolf eyes. “I’m sorry,” he says sincerely.

Declan turns to Merlin and Mordred and bows his head briefly. “My thanks to the Vixen of the Pendragon pack and to Mordred for their help in the birthing of my son.”

Merlin and Mordred nod. “Alpha Declan, if we may ask a favor? May we visit Ewan before we leave?”

Declan is unlikely to refuse them now, so he nods, leading them outside and directing one of his betas to show them the way to Brionna’s house.


	21. Lost and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin and Mordred check on Ewan, a reunion with friends, and Arthur uses his sex appeal to reopen his bond with Merlin and find out the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, you all getting sexed out yet?

“Was it my imagination, or did Declan appear almost human a moment ago?” Mordred whispers to Merlin when they’re alone in Brionna’s living room waiting for Ewan.

“I thought the same thing,” Merlin replies, picking at a string on his silken slacks.

Declan has shown Agravaine into Brionna’s study, which is just as opulent as her brother’s, although Merlin only gets the briefest of glimpses at it before the door shuts on them. He doesn’t care; he’s glad for the privacy it affords the omegas.

He hugs Ewan, and Mordred does, too.

“I am so, so, sorry, Ewan,” Merlin says to him, tears forming in his eyes. “You don’t know how much. I completely failed you. I never should have brought you here. I should have suspected.”

“It’s all right, Merlin,” Ewan assures him. “I think that in the back of my mind I knew it would happen.”

“What?” Mordred asks, astounded. “You couldn’t have!”

Ewan sits down and invites them to. For the first time, Merlin notices that Ewan is dressed well. He wears a pair of silken blue pants and a matching tunic top. He doesn’t look as though he’s lost any sleep or been pining.

“Has she hurt you?” Merlin asks quietly.

“She isn’t like Vivian, but she’s not all bad,” Ewan says. “I told you before; I’m attracted to her. That makes up for a lot. She's attracted to me—she chose me. I’m her first mate. That’s something, too. I don’t feel like a third wheel.” He looks between his two friends. “I know you two don’t understand, and I don’t expect you to. You have your true mates. But I’m not unhappy. Please don’t worry about me, okay?” He puts an arm around Merlin. “Maybe I can help my old pack by keeping my ears open and by helping pack relations, and maybe I can help my new pack by teaching them a few things. They’re honestly, like, centuries behind us in some ways.”

Merlin looks to Mordred, who shrugs.

“I don’t like leaving you here,” Merlin tells him.

“I’m okay,” Ewan assures his friends. “I promise. And this isn’t your fault. I was at the very end of my heat. I had enough in me to refrain from presenting that day. I made my choice, Merlin. I’m just glad that Arthur didn’t do something stupid like challenge Declan over it. That would have been a disaster.” He leans forward. “Don’t ever let him do that, Merlin. It would have to be over something very important…Declan wants Pendragon pack. I know he does. He only needs a reason.”

“You don’t think Arthur would win?” Merlin can’t help but feel insulted for his alpha.

“He could. But if he didn’t? The whole pack would be Declan’s, including you and your children.”

“I’d be dead,” Merlin states flatly.

Ewan shakes his head. “No. The only way a true mate can live after his mate dies if for the victorious alpha to claim him. You would be Declan’s, and so would your children.”

“I’d rather die!” Merlin replies vehemently and a little too loudly.

“I’m just saying, tread carefully. More’s at stake with these pack relations than you think,” Ewan whispers, putting a finger to Merlin’s lips.

~~~

Agravaine seems very quiet on the trip back, but Merlin’s lost in his own thoughts, too, Ewan’s earlier words ringing in his ears. The very thought of losing Arthur and having to go on without him is horrifying. To do it with Declan is unthinkable. Does the Alpha want Pendragon pack so much that he would create trouble to goad Arthur into a fight? Merlin sincerely hopes not. He also hopes that Merlin’s and Mordred’s assistance with the birth of Declan’s son is a step in the right direction in mending pack relations. He thinks of his recent nightmares and shivers.

“Who is that?” Mordred interrupts Merlin’s dark thoughts, pointing to a small group standing near the main house. They’d just entered the main gates, and even the beta guards are staring that way.

“Gods, is it…” Merlin stops.

“It’s Lance!” Agravaine says. “With Simon!”

Mitzi has her arms around Simon, and Pete is patting him on the back. Merlin rushes forward, practically plowing into Lance.

“Lance! I thought I’d never see you again!” Merlin hugs him, and then stops abruptly, scenting something. He begins sniffing him. Arthur is there, but he doesn’t say anything, only waits.

Merlin frowns. This is impossible.

“Lance?” he asks, looking into his friend’s eyes. “Lance! How? You’re an omega!”

Arthur lets out a breath as though he’s been waiting for the confirmation. “Let’s all go inside, shall we?” he invites.

Once in Mitzi’s spacious kitchen with plenty of cookies in front of them, and Simon seated with Lance practically in his lap, the story spills out. Lance first tells about what happened with Gwen, which Merlin finds difficult to listen to. Then he tells about his dream, during which Merlin’s heart rate increases considerably, and he avoids the direct look he gets from Arthur. Simon picks up the tale from his end. When they finish, everyone is quiet for long moments.

“So you’re true mates,” Gwaine states. “Wow. That’s some surprise.”

“It sounds like the Father Wolf changed you for some reason,” Nim says.

Lance nods. “I fought it at first, but it seems to be my destiny.” He looks over at Simon and then blushes.

“Well,” Pete replies matter-of-factly, “you aren’t going to want to be bunking with Egan and Silas anymore, Simon. I guess you and Lance can take the last house near the gate.”

“Thank you, Pete,” Simon replies. “Alpha,” he looks at Arthur. “We’re really tired from hiking all day. Is there going to be a problem with Lance returning to the pack?”

Arthur looks at Lance. “You broke pack law by taking Gwen,” Arthur tells Lance. “You know that.”

Lance nods.

“Even though you did the right thing in the end. For taking her from her cell, I should banish you.”

Lance nods again. “I wouldn’t have come back,” he says.

“I brought him back as my mate. My true mate,” Simon tells Arthur. “He’s been changed, and he isn’t the same person. If he can’t stay, I’m leaving, too.”

“I thought as much.” Arthur is quiet a moment. No one makes a sound, and Merlin tries not to fidget. He really wants Lance back in the pack.

“I think,” Arthur finally breaks the silence, and Mitzi drops the fork she’s been twiddling nervously between her fingers with a clatter, “that the circumstances of the Father Wolf changing Lance into an omega, along with Lance making the decision to kill Gwen and being Simon’s true mate all point to him being reinstated into our pack. But Lance…” here Arthur meets Lance’s eyes. “You can never break pack law again. There is no question-- I will not be so lenient next time.”

Lance’s smile is brilliant. “Thank you, Alpha!”

Arthur’s answering smile is equally brilliant.

“Welcome back, Lance.”

When Arthur and Merlin return to their house, Arthur pulls Merlin inside and slams the door shut. Merlin stares at him, stunned.

“What is it?”

Arthur scents Merlin up one side and down the other.

“Who is it that I smell on you?” he asks suspiciously. “It isn’t another alpha, or I would already have had your hide and the alpha's life.” He backs Merlin against the wall.

“Oh, that’s probably Phineas,” Merlin tells him a little nervously. “Mordred and I had to help him go into labour today.”

Arthur presses his nose to Merlin’s neck, moving along his jawline before sniffing at his lips. “What did you do, exactly?” he asks, blue eyes narrowed.

Merlin clears his throat. “Well, when an omega's overdue to give birth, one thing you can do to help is bring the omega to orgasm…” Arthur’s nearness is distracting, and Merlin’s finding it difficult to think. “…and, um, Declan was unwilling to do so. Phineas was so miserable…and…and…”

“What did you _do_ , _Mer_ lin?” Arthur takes Merlin’s hands in his and smells his fingertips.

“Um, I, well, I played with his n-nipples.” He swallows. “And, and I l-licked them.”

Arthur raises dilated eyes to Merlin’s. “You licked them?”

Merlin nods.

“What else did you…lick?”

“H-his ear.”

Arthur leans his forehead against Merlin's, his breath coming fast. “Show me.” He turns his head, offering his ear to Merlin’s mouth. Merlin pushes his tongue out and runs it along the rim of Arthur’s ear, loving the shape of it before pushing his tongue inside. He sighs. “I actually don’t think I was quite that thorough,” he says. “But I really love your ear, Arthur.” He pulls the lobe into his mouth and sucks on it.

Arthur nuzzles Merlin’s neck before turning to look into his eyes again.

“Did you lick his cock, Merlin?”

“N-no. I left that to Mordred.”

Arthur leans in, taking Merlin’s mouth in a hard kiss, stealing his breath away. He nips at Merlin’s lower lip, snagging the slick skin just inside, then sucks on his upper lip. All the while, Arthur runs his fingertips over Merlin’s ribs, touching each one lovingly. Merlin shivers, breathing quickly through his nose, his own hands falling onto Arthur’s hips, gripping them hard.

“I am your alpha,” Arthur whispers into Merlin’s mouth, “you are my omega. We are true mates. Above that, we are soul bonded. You can deny me nothing, Merlin. This is truth.”

Merlin nods, kissing Arthur back deeply. Arthur moves his hands so that they slide down and around the soft fabric covering Merlin’s arse. He easily lifts him up, and Merlin wraps his legs around Arthur’s waist. They continue to kiss hungrily.

“But this is no hardship,” Arthur continues after a moment, his voice raspy with need. “For you understand that I would ask nothing of you that you should not willingly give to me. Our trust runs deep.”

Merlin nods again and whimpers, pushing his clothed erection against Arthur’s firm stomach where his shirt hikes up as Arthur growls, swinging around and carrying Merlin to their bedroom.

“Merlin,” Arthur whispers, yanking off his own loathsome work trousers and then the loose tied slacks Merlin habitually wears. Merlin makes short work of ridding himself of his T-shirt as Arthur strips off his own. “Merlin..."

Arthur pushes inside Merlin, at the same time sucking on Merlin’s mating bite, wrenching needy sounds from his lips. Arthur thrusts hard and fast.

“It’s time to come clean with me, Merlin,” Arthur tells him, looking his mate in the eyes as he fucks him. “You've been trying to block our bond, haven't you? Tell me about these dreams that wake you in the middle of the night and what Kilgharrah says to you.”

Merlin writhes beneath Arthur, pleasure mounting, even as guilt washes over him. Arthur pins him by the wrists, pausing in his thrusting, leaning in nose to nose. “Tell me,” he orders.

Tears escape Merlin’s eyes and roll down his face into his ears.

“It’s alright,” Arthur says softly. “Just tell me.”

Merlin can’t stop his lips from trembling when he answers, “He tells me to beware the wolf with one blue and one brown eye.” Merlin swallows his tears. “And he shows me…your death.” Merlin blinks rapidly. “I always make myself wake up then,” he sobs, and Arthur kisses him, slowly sliding in and out of his body, a loving tempo, Merlin’s shaking knees pressed against Arthur’s sides.

Arthur kisses and licks all the tears from Merlin’s face, knot pushing its way in. He watches as Merlin arches his back, a beatific look passing over his expressive face, spiky black lashes framing tear-washed blue eyes. He hates that Merlin carried such a burden inside him; he should have told Arthur after the first dream. Arthur should have made him tell him.

He leans down and kisses Merlin’s pretty lips again and again. “It will be all right, Merlin. Stop your worrying. The Father Wolf tells us these things for a reason. He helps us. Look what he did for Lance.”

“I can’t lose you, Arthur,” Merlin clutches at him. “And if I do, I have to make sure I go, too. I can’t live on this earth without you.”

Arthur shakes his head. “Let’s not talk of this.” He kisses Merlin again, prodding Merlin’s mouth open with his tongue as his knot breaks and sweet bliss runs through him.

He feels Merlin shaking apart beneath him.


	22. An Omega for an Omega

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for helping out with inconsistencies. I really do try to keep track of things, but there's a lot to keep track of! Hope it's not driving you all bonkers.
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains a whipping.

 

“Oh, Agravaine! This is wonderful! Thank you so much! But however did you manage it?” Nim asks, leaning eagerly over the table as she pours him some tea.

“I just had a lot of time to talk to Declan and Brionna while Merlin and Mordred visited with Ewan,” Agravaine tells her, eating a scone and licking his fingers. “They aren’t as bad as some make out. Declan was perfectly willing to let you visit your sister if I escort you. Of course, it probably didn’t hurt that Declan’s omega just gave birth to his son. He was in rather a good mood.”

Nim dimples, she’s so pleased. “I can’t wait to see her. Do you think it will be all right if I bring Pip and Mary? She hasn’t seen them.”

“I specifically asked that you may,” Agravaine tells her benevolently. “They said that tomorrow afternoon would be fine.”

Nim claps her hands. “I’m so excited!”

“About what, my lovely?” Gwaine asks, coming into the room.

“Agravaine’s gotten Declan to agree to let me visit my sister!” Nim nearly squeals. “I get to take the pups to see her tomorrow afternoon! Agravaine will escort me!”

Gwaine looks to Agravaine. “That’s very kind of you,” he tells him.

“It’s nothing. I don’t mind in the slightest.”

“It surely mustn’t be on the top of your list of things you’d like to do, though,” Gwaine says. “Shall I escort her instead?”

“I don’t think Declan would like it if you did,” Agravaine replies ruefully. “For some reason, he’s taken a liking to me. Perhaps because I’m unmated? I don’t know. We played some chess together in his study, and we like many of the same books. Anyway, it’s no bother at all. I’d be glad to do it.”

“If you’re sure,” Gwaine replies, and Agravaine nods. Normally, Gwaine would not be happy to find his omega alone with another alpha or to have another alpha escort her somewhere; but Agravaine is an odd case. Not only is he uninterested in taking a mate, he has proven himself trust-worthy by his help with Gwen during her heats. He isn't a particularly dominant alpha. Plus, Nim is not in heat, and she is Gwaine's true-mate.

Gwaine sits down, and Nim pours him some tea. Talk turns to the cattle, and Nim goes to tell Sophia the good news. She finds her in the nursery putting away the children’s laundry. 

“How nice of Agravaine,” Sophia says. “I’ve always thought him a little standoffish, although I know he helped Lance before…by quenching Gwen’s need during her heat.”

“And he did the same for Ewan,” Nim reminds her, shutting the door so the men won’t hear them gossiping.

“I wonder why he didn’t just take Ewan for a mate himself?” Sophia muses, shutting the drawer.

Nim shrugs. “I suppose there was no attraction there. I don’t really know. He’s always been a bit of a loner since he was widowed years ago.”

“Was he mated to a man or a woman?” Sophia asks.

“I believe Gwaine told me…it was a woman?” Nim thinks, tapping her chin. “It was many years ago. I like to think he loved her very much and never wanted to mate again after her death. Obviously, they weren’t true-mates, though, since he’s still alive.”

Sophia nods. “I saw Owain flirting with Allison this morning.”

“Really? Well, that’s good. Maybe she’ll get interested and stop bothering Percy,” Nim snorts derisively.

“Do you think that Freya would really have been okay with taking Ewan in as a second mate?” Sophia asks. “Someone mentioned that just before Brionna came into the omega den at the Freemont ranch and mated with him—that they were one of the families that wanted to mate with him. It kind of surprised me.”

“I don’t know…maybe. You know Freya, so full of love for everyone. Come on, let’s go over to the main house and get the pups. Mitzi’s had them long enough, and I probably should nurse them.”

When they arrive there, Nim’s surprised to find a commotion going on. Percy’s standing in the living room with a stranger.

“I’ve sent Sid for the Alpha,” Pete says, rejoining them. Nim goes over to the playpen to speak to the babies.

“Girls, this is Donald,” Percy introduces the stranger to Nim and Sophia. “I’ll wait to explain things until Arthur gets here.”

Mitzi gets some bottled waters and passes them out. When Arthur finally comes in from the field, dripping sweat and rubbing his neck with a handkerchief, Percy turns to him.

“Alpha, you know how you sent me to the Freemont’s to see if they might have that part we need for the tractor?” At Arthur’s nod, he continues, “Well, they did, and I’ve got it, but Declan told me that he owes us an omega for the one they took…for Ewan. He says he always keeps his bargains. So he sent Donald back with me.” Percy motions to Donald.

Arthur looks at Donald, surprised. Nim does, too. Donald is of medium height, has dark red hair, and very fair skin that looks like it freckles easily. He has an easy smile, and nods and greets Arthur. “Alpha.”

Percy gestures to each person in the room, introducing them.

Sophia sidles up to Nim. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” she asks.

"That it would have been too much to ask for him to send my sister?" Nim asks.

"Well, yes," Sophia blushes.  "But besides that, he’s perfect for us! Gwaine couldn’t get Ewan, so let’s take Donald!”

“Erm, excuse us,” Nim tells the group, snatching up Pip and handing him to Sophia before grabbing up Mary. “Got to take them home to nurse!” They race out of the house and back to their own where they thankfully do not find Agravaine. While Nim shifts and begins to nurse the pups, Sophia tells Gwaine about Donald.

“Oh, I don’t know, girls,” Gwaine demurs, shaking his head. “I don’t think so.”

“But why not?” Sophia pouts.

“There are other alphas in this pack who aren’t already blessed with two mates,” Gwaine replies. He pulls Sophia down to sit on his lap. “What we’ve got is pretty good. If some guy comes along who’s just perfect for us, we’ll know it. I don’t want to jump into anything.” He looks at Nim where she lies nursing the pups. “Agreed?”

She yips at him, part agreement, part disappointment.

~~~

“Phinny is doing well,” Donald tells Merlin when he asks. “He loves that pup of his. Named him Morpheus. He seems to make up for other things that aren’t so good in his life.” Donald doesn’t say ‘Declan’ specifically, but they both understand.

Merlin likes Donald—he seems a nice enough guy. No one jumps to mate with him, proving that most only felt badly for Ewan. But a few of the Hobart alphas have been looking him over. Most are young men, just in their twenties that Ewan never considered both because they were so young and because they were Hobarts. He'd been more interested in mating within the Pendragon pack, but Merlin also had a suspicion that he was holding out for a female mate. Donald is a few years younger than the Hobart alphas, but that shouldn’t matter much. Egan is one of them, and Merlin can see the sparks flying between the two. Silas is another.

Merlin looks into Donald’s very blue eyes. “Has Declan been mistreating Phineas? And do you think he’d hurt Morpheus?”

“I haven’t seen anything,” Donald replies, and Merlin thinks he’s telling the truth.

Merlin sighs. “I really want to visit. Maybe I’ll go with Nim and Agravaine today. I may have to drag another alpha along if I do, though. And it all might make Declan angry.”

“Phineas seems to really value your friendship,” Donald tells him. “I think you should go. Plus, I heard Declan say that he wants to get the packs together for Samhain, so he’ll probably welcome you. He’s been in good spirits since the birth of Morpheus.”

Merlin smiles. “Great! Okay, then. I’ll go.” He leaves to find Arthur to tell him his plans, and then to search out Agravaine.

When he’s about to leave, Daegal runs after him, holding out Anastasia. “She’s been crying for you,” the beta tells him. Merlin holds out his arms for his little blonde girl, and she grabs hold of him, rubbing her runny nose against his tunic. She’s particularly clingy to Merlin these days, so he shouldn’t be surprised. He resigns himself to taking her with him, and goes to join Agravaine, Nim, and her pups at the gate. Arthur waves from the field, obviously amused that Merlin has Stacy clinging to him like a monkey. They start out, the trek now fairly familiar to Merlin. They have no problem entering the Freemont gates this time, and don’t even have to wait for Declan to come and fetch them; a couple of betas lead them directly to where they need to go. Merlin isn’t expected, but Phineas is very happy to see him. After showing off a sleeping Morpheus in his basket, Phineas takes Merlin into another room and serves him tea.

Phineas then takes Anastasia onto his lap, a sad look crawling over his handsome face.

“I’m sorry,” Merlin says, “I didn’t mean to make you sad by bringing her. She was crying for me as I left.”

“That’s all right,” Phineas replies. “She’s a beautiful little girl. She looks like her father.”

Merlin nods, smiling. Phineas rocks her in his arms as Merlin drinks his tea.

“I see you’ve found the tunics and pants that some of us favor.”

“Ewan showed us where in town to buy them,” Merlin smiles. “They’re very comfortable. Arthur hates what he has to wear out in the fields. Where we lived before…we just wore some cloth around our waists. I notice some of your women do that as well.”

“Not in town, of course,” Phineas says. “Brionna enjoys baring herself, I think,” he says in a low tone. “She likes the attention she gets. I didn’t expect you to come today.”

“It was a last minute decision. How is Ewan? Do you think he’s happy with Brionna?”

“I don’t think she beats him, if that’s what you mean. I don’t see a lot of him. Declan keeps me indoors a lot.”

“I’m sorry,” Merlin tells him. “I wish he’d let you visit us.”

“Maybe things will change, given time.”

A noise from another part of the house catches Merlin’s attention. “Are Declan and Agravaine playing chess?”

“Chess?” Phineas frowns. “I don’t even think Declan owns a chess set. Brionna is here. I don’t know what they’re doing.”

“Has he been hurting you?” Merlin whispers.

“There isn’t anything you can do about it, so don’t even ask,” Phineas replies. He looks down at Anastasia. “She’s asleep,” he tells Merlin, smiling down at the baby. “I’ll never know what my little girl would have looked like.” He starts to say something else, when the door down the hall opens and Declan swaggers out, closing the study door behind him. He stops when he sees Merlin.

“I didn’t realize you were here.”

“I hope you don’t mind. I came along to visit Phineas and see your beautiful son.” Merlin figures a little ego-stroking can’t hurt, and he’s right. Declan immediately smiles. He peeks into the nursery at his sleeping pup.

“He’s going to be an alpha, I can tell,” Declan claims proudly.

“Nim has gone to the omega den to visit her sister,” Merlin tells him, taking Anastasia from Phineas. “I’ll head that way.”

He finds Nim chatting happily with Erynn.

“Hello, Merlin!” Erynn greets him when he appears. “And who is this lovely little lady?”

“This is Anastasia,” Merlin tells her. “She’s napping right now. She demanded to come with me at the last moment.” He sits on some furs.

Pip and Mary are sleeping curled up in Nim’s lap. They haven’t had their first shift yet.

“I’m to be mated soon,” Erynn tells Merlin. “To Trevor. He’s been bringing me flowers,” she laughs. “Courting me, sort of. He’s a little bit awkward. I like him well enough. Several of us will be mated on Samhain.”

“I wish you could be in our pack. I don’t know why Declan couldn’t have given you to us rather than Donald.”

“Probably because Trevor likes me, and Trevor’s Declan’s nephew as well as a second in the pack,” Erynn answers. “It’s all right, Nim. It’s better than we thought it would be a year ago, isn’t it? When we thought we’d never see one another again.”

“True,” Nim agrees, smiling. She looks at Merlin. “Why are you so quiet?”

“I’m just wondering what Agravaine and Brionna could have to talk about alone in Declan’s study, and why Agravaine lied about playing chess with Declan,” Merlin tells her in a low voice. Nim’s eyes grow wide.

“Keep your ears open, Erynn,” Merlin tells her. “But don’t say a word to anyone in this pack.”

~~~

It seems that lately every time Merlin arrives home from visiting the Freemonts, something is going on. This time, Arthur has a naked Mithian by the ear and is dragging her out of the barn. Merlin rushes through the gates, handing Stacy off to Will, who happens to be standing nearby with Leon.

“Arthur!” Merlin shouts. “What’s going on?”

“She’s in trouble, that’s what’s going on,” Arthur snaps. “She’s broken pack law. I found her rutting with a human.”

“What?” Merlin’s mouth falls open, unable to imagine such a thing.

“Who?” He looks to Mithian, who stares at the ground. Jordan Brighton appears from the barn, disheveled and zipping up his jeans.

Mitzi and Pete rush from the direction of the main house. Arthur repeats the story to them and their faces go white.

“What were you thinking, doing such a thing?” Pete asks Jordan.

“She offered herself to me,” Jordan answers. “I…had a weak moment. Look at her!” They all turn and look at the naked girl, her lustrous hair curling over her pale shoulders, pert breasts gleaming in the sun.

George looks like he might be sick at any moment.

“Twenty lashes,” Arthur announces. “Percy!” he orders, and the big man goes to get the whip. Mithian’s eyes get big as Sid and Owain grasp her hands, tying her wrists to opposite posts used for tying horses in front of the barn.

“Ring the bell,” Arthur orders Allison, who runs toward the main house. When the bell sounds, the wolves begin to gather. Percy returns with the whip.

“For rutting with a human, the beta Mithian receives twenty lashes with the whip,” Arthur decrees when they are all present. “I will count.”

The whip cracks.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

Merlin thinks it will go on forever, the whip making red cuts against Mithian’s pale white skin. Her knees buckle, but she doesn’t cry out.

“Eighteen.”

“Nineteen.”

“Twenty. Take her down.”

Owain and Sid release Mithian’s wrists, and she falls to the ground.

Arthur looks down at her. “You knew to rut with a human is against pack law, Mithian, yet you chose to do so anyway. Born a beta, you are unable to have children and would be fortunate to find a mate. Now you would be a hundred times fortunate.”

He turns and walks away, and so does everyone else in the pack, leaving Mithian lying in the dirt.

“Why, Mithian?” A voice asks her. It’s Freya.

“I couldn’t tell you, Freya,” Mithian replies, “when I don’t know myself.”

“Freya, come,” Percy calls to her.

“Arthur!” Merlin catches up to him with difficulty.

“Merlin, if you are going to lecture me on filling my duty as Alpha of this pack, you can save it,” Arthur says tersely, continuing to walk.

“No, no. I wasn’t. I’m not. I just want to know…what of the human? Why is he not punished?”

Arthur pushes his jaw out. “Humans are not mine to punish, and those humans have been sanctioned to be here by the Hobarts. They have nothing to do with me. Mithian knew it was wrong---I caught them in the act. She was not being raped.”

Merlin nods, continuing to walk with Arthur in silence. He sees that Leon has taken Stacy to their home, and they head in that direction. Merlin slips his hand inside Arthur’s and squeezes it. He receives a gentle squeeze in return.


	23. Upset

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Myden, who wanted some jealous Merlin.

“Arthur,” Merlin whispers when he crawls into bed. It’s late, and he suddenly realizes Arthur’s got Artie nestled in the crook of his arm.

“Ugmm,” Arthur mutters.

“Are you asleep?”

“Mmph.”

Merlin gently lifts Artie and takes him to his bed, then returns and cuddles up close to Arthur, who rolls over and gathers him in; as always, it feels like coming home to Merlin.

“I have to talk to you, but things keep interrupting us,” Merlin whispers.

“I’m so tired, Merlin,” Arthur mutters into Merlin’s neck. “Can it wait?”

“I suppose,” Merlin says, stroking Arthur’s hip and thigh. “Go to sleep, luv.” He listens to Arthur’s breathing evening out. It’s really difficult having six kids. He’s been thinking about trying to find some live-in help within the pack. He and Arthur simply have too much going on trying to get all six of the kids bathed and fed every morning, noon, and night.

He falls asleep with these thoughts on his mind.

He broaches the subject over breakfast the next morning as Artie throws his eggs against the wall.

Arthur grabs his son’s wrist. “Why do you always throw your food? That’s a no-no!”

Artie sticks out his bottom lip. Em tugs at his father’s arm. “No, Da!”

Merlin hides his smile at Em’s attempt to protect Artie from his father’s anger, and Arthur’s mouth falls open.

Hunith spills her juice.

With a sigh, Arthur turns to Merlin. “Find someone. Today. Is that what you wanted to talk to me about last night?”

“Well, no. Actually, I need to talk to you about Agravaine. I think he’s up to something.” Merlin takes the spoon away from Igraine, who is trying to break it on her highchair tray. Ella helpfully hands Igraine her spoon.

“Up to something?” Arthur asks, taking a long drink of coffee. “Such as?”

Merlin tells him about Agravaine’s meetings with Declan and Brionna, and his lie about the chess.

“I don’t know, Merlin. Just what exactly do you have in mind? A plot to overthrow me?” Arthur grins.

Merlin rolls his eyes. “Well, it just sounds silly when you say it. Just be careful, would you? Keep your eyes and ears open. I don’t trust them at all.”

Arthur leans in and kisses Merlin. “Okay. I’m going into town with Cenred and Pete to pick up some supplies. I’ll be back this afternoon.” He tweaks Merlin’s nose, then leans down and gives each of his children a kiss before heading for the door.

“Poo-poo,” says Em seriously, pointing to his nappy, and Arthur hurries his steps.

When Merlin gets the children bathed and dressed, he takes them by Gilli’s. “I need some live-in help,” he tells the beta. “I know you and Daegal don’t do that, but do you have any idea who might be willing?”

“Yes, actually,” Gilli replies.

“You’re kidding.” Merlin can’t believe it. “Who?”

“Donald, the new bloke. He’s great with kids.”

Merlin wrinkles his nose. “Forget that. I’m not going to have another omega in the house. What about when he goes into heat? No way.” He shakes his head.

“Okay, okay,” Gilli laughs. “I gotcha.” He thinks a moment. “So I guess you need a beta, then. I suppose Mithian’s out?”

“Not necessarily,” Merlin replies. “She’s good with kids, and she really needs a chance to redeem herself. I don’t know what she was thinking.”

Gilli shakes his head. “I don’t either. If you ask me, I think she’s always been a bit loose. I mean, she flirts with so many blokes. Practically threw herself at Simon.” He looks at Merlin. “Maybe she wouldn’t be such a good one to have around the kids. There’s Allison, but she’s a terrible flirt, too. Owain, Sid…There’s Katy, and Collum.

“Those are all good ideas,” Merlin replies. “I’ll think about them. I’d love to find somebody today. Maybe I’ll talk to Mitzi about it.”

“Good idea.”

Merlin heads for the main house. On the way, he sees Mordred kneeling in the garden pulling weeds. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Merlin stops and leans against a huge oak. “Did Cenred notice anything that day that we helped Phineas out? I mean, did he scent him on you?”

Mordred flushes. “As a matter of fact, yes.”

“How did he react? He wasn’t angry, was he?” Merlin asks.

“Not angry, no, but he was fired up. He told me he could smell cum on my breath. He told me I was lucky he didn’t smell an alpha on me, but as it was, he was going to make sure my breath and everything else about me smelled only of him.” Mordred shudders at the memory, and Merlin can see him hardening in his loose trousers.

Merlin smiles, taking Mordred’s floppy gardening hat off his head and slapping him with it before putting it back. “They’re sexy beasts when they’re jealous, aren’t they?”

Mordred winks. “You know it!”

Merlin continues on, entering the main house and calling Mitzi’s name. She appears at the top of the stairs and starts down.

“Merlin! Lovely to see you this morning. Where are the children?”

“I dropped them at Gilli and Daegal’s. They wear us out. That’s why I’m here. Can you recommend a beta for live-in help?”

“Hm, let’s see.” Mitzi leads the way into the kitchen to put on some coffee and cut the lemon cake.

She names off many of the same people that Gilli did, although she doesn’t mention Mithian or Allison. “I really think that Collum would be a good fit. He’s a diligent beta who loves children. He’s young and energetic. Have you spoken to him before?”

Merlin thinks. He seems to remember Collum as a boy almost as large as Percy with serious eyes and curly, dirty-blond hair. “I think perhaps once or twice.”

“He’ll be by for his laundry, which I do for him as a favor,” Mitzi tells Merlin. “He’s shrunk his clothes on more than one occasion. I’ll send him your way.” Merlin thanks her, finishes his cake, and chats with her of other things.

~~~

Mithian sits by the river thinking. She doesn’t know why Jordan won’t talk to her now, or why he didn’t stick up for her when the Alpha found them in the barn together. He’d told her they’d just have a bit of fun and it would be okay. He’d told her it was no big deal…that the Alpha never came in the barn. Now it’s as though he doesn’t even know her. She’d rather be publicly whipped a hundred times over than suffer through this. To top it all off, George approached her afterward and offered to mate with her.

She doesn’t want George. She doesn’t want his pity. She doesn’t want anyone in the pack. Tears roll down Mithian’s cheeks. What’s happened to her? She used to be so happy.

Someone sits beside her and she glances over. Freya again. The girl is kind, but her kindness sometimes gets on Mithian’s nerves at times like these when she’d rather be alone.

“Would you like to go into town with me and Percy, Mith?” Freya asks.

Mithian is about to refuse, but thinks better of it for two reasons: town means one of the Brighton brothers driving the horses, and town means human contact. She smiles at Freya. “That would be nice, Frey. Thanks.”

She should have known it wouldn’t be Jordan, but one of his brothers to drive the horses, but that’s okay. Mithian is just happy to be away from the pack. She has to admit that Percy and Freya make a cute couple now that they’re properly mated. Freya seems to have really turned into a confident woman around him, and the way he looks at her is telling. Mithian would be jealous, except Freya has always been so lovely to her, she really can’t find it within herself to begrudge her the happiness.

Being a beta, she’s able to walk alone in town without Percy insisting that he escort her. He does give her a warning look that says there’d better not be a repeat of what happened in the barn. Mithian manages to look cowed and goes her way. She’s surprised when a hand touches her arm, and she turns around to see a vaguely familiar face.

“Don’t you remember me?” The girl asks. “We met at the bonfire. I’m Bretta, a beta from Declan’s pack.” The pretty girl smiles.

Mithian shakes her head no. “I mean, your face looks familiar, but I don’t recall speaking with you.”

“It was only for a moment,” Bretta replies. “Are you excited about Samhain? I am. Oh…” She sees the skirt Mithian’s looking at. “You would look so pretty in this color,” she points to the green. “I have that skirt in yellow. My boyfriend, Garth, loves it on me.”

“Your boyfriend?” Mithian thinks the word curious. “You mean your mate?”

Bretta laughs. “Oh, no. I can’t mate him. He’s human. We just hang out, have sex.”

Mithian gasps, looking over her shoulder. “But…that’s against pack law!” she hisses. “They’re not even supposed to know we’re weres!”

Bretta blinks. “They don’t have to _know_ in order to date us. And it’s not against pack law in my pack as long as we don’t tell about being weres! Is it in yours?”

Mithian frowns. “I…I was just publicly whipped for it!”

Bretta’s pretty mouth falls open. “What? That’s…that’s barbaric! I’ve never heard of such a thing!”

“Really?” Mithian asks. And Alpha Arthur has called Declan’s pack barbaric!

“Publicly whipped?” The girl says again. She pulls Mithian out of the store and onto a bench outside. “Tell me what happened.”

“We were…this human boy that works on our ranch. We were in the barn together. We were…you know. My Alpha discovered us. He dragged me out and called the pack over. They tied me and gave me twenty lashes.” She winces a little because her back and buttocks are still a bit sore.

“Shit, that’s…that’s horrible. I’m sorry for you, Mithian. I mean, sometimes alphas hit their omegas—usually in the privacy of their own homes—but we don’t do public whippings. You should come over to our pack.”

“Oh, I couldn’t do that,” Mithian replies.

“Why not?” Bretta cocks her head. “Declan would take you.”

Mithian thinks. “It just isn’t done.”

“You could do it, though. Samhain is near. You could…” Bretta thinks. “You could rut with Declan. It’s done all the time!” She smiles. “If you rut with the pack leader, you’re automatically part of the pack. Everyone’s rutting at Samhain, you’ll see.”

Mithian thinks this over, worrying her lower lip with her teeth.

“Think about it. Oh! There’s Garth. I have to run. See you at Samhain!” Bretta runs off. Garth is really cute, Mithian has to admit. He waves at Mithian before taking Bretta’s arm and giving her a kiss. Mithian curls her hands into fists at the sudden rage that fills her at her treatment by her pack leader. Was it really such a crime to have a little physical fun with a human? What real harm did it cause?

Percy and Freya come out of the shop, bags in their hands, and Freya asks if she’s ready. Mithian nods and they walk toward the wagon.

“I got Bronwyn some of that cream she wanted for her back,” Freya tells her. “I don’t know why it’s aching so, but this should help.”

Mithian nods again, her thoughts miles away.

~~~

When Arthur comes home that evening, it’s to find a quiet house with six clean, happy, fed children playing contentedly in the play room and his sexy omega waiting with a candle-lit dinner.

“What’s going on?” Arthur asks, eyes wide.

“I got us a nanny,” Merlin answers, pulling him in for a kiss. He can sense how tired Arthur is. It must have been a long day.

“His room’s next to the children’s. It’s Collum. He’s taken care of everything, and he’s gone to take a shower. Here, sit down and eat.” He pulls out a chair for Arthur.

Arthur sits, surveying the meal before him.

“Are you sure I’m not dreaming?”

“Positive.” Merlin leans down to kiss him before unbuttoning the first few buttons of Arthur’s shirt. “Get comfortable, and I’ll pour you some wine.

The bathroom door opens and Collum appears. “Hello, Alpha!” He grins, rivulets of water running down his well-muscled body and disappearing into the low-slung towel.

“Hello, Collum. Nice to have you here,” Arthur answers.

“Your children are absolute angels,” Collum says, leaning against the wall.

“Thank you; I think so, too.”

Merlin clears his throat. “Perhaps you could get the angels to bed, Collum?” he prompts.

“Oh—sure, Merlin,” Collum turns, the dimples above his arse showing as he moves toward his bedroom. The door shuts with a click.

“Perfect choice, Merlin,” Arthur says, beginning to eat.

“And exactly what do you mean by that?” Merlin asks in a clipped tone, taking his seat.

Arthur looks up, suddenly aware the mood has changed. “Hm? I mean that…you chose well in a nanny?”

Merlin leans forward. “And what is it about Collum that you like so much, my Alpha?”

“Uhhh…”

He’s saved from answering by a squeal and Igraine toddling toward him, arms raised to be held. Arthur picks her up. “And how’s my little pumpkin?” he asks her, smoothing back her velvety black hair.

Merlin crosses his arms over his chest. Collum appears from out of his room, massive chest glistening—doesn’t the boy know how to properly use a towel?

“I’ll get them to bed straight away,” he tells Arthur.

“No hurry,” Arthur replies. “I enjoy seeing them.”

Merlin frowns deeply.

“Collum, you’d better put on a shirt. It’s chilly in here,” Merlin says. The boy’s nipples are pebbling obscenely.

“Okay, Merlin.” Collum goes for the shirt. Arthur gets up and flies Igraine over his head a bit until she’s laughing hysterically. He disappears into the nursery. Merlin sighs and gets up to help put the babies to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, sorry for the, like, forty errors I just found now that I'm home from work and looking it over again!


	24. The Night Before Samhain

That night it’s Merlin, Arthur, and Collum sitting in the living room chatting. Well, Arthur and Collum chat as Merlin reads a book. Or pretends to read a book.  He rests his head on Arthur’s lap, and Arthur distractedly runs his fingers through Merlin’s hair as he talks to Collum about…hay weevils? Or something like that. Merlin’s not listening.

Then Artie’s voice comes muffled from the nursery. “Em POO!” and Merlin starts to get up before he remembers they have a nanny now. Collum rises from his seat and walks into the nursery. Merlin looks up at Arthur, who smiles down at him.

“Em sure poos a lot,” Arthur observes.

“I noticed that,” Merlin replies. “I also notice that Artie wants Em’s nappy changed pronto.”

“Can’t blame the boy,” Arthur laughs. “Em’s poos are lethal, and Artie sleeps in the crib with him.”

“Let’s go to bed, Arthur,” Merlin suggests, leaning sideways to nuzzle Arthur’s lap.

“That sounds like a good idea.”

They turn out the lights and peek into the nursery, where Collum has Em on the changing table and Artie stands in his crib observing, thumb plugged in mouth and blue eyes wide. The girls are sleeping like angels in their crib across the room, well out of throwing distance of stuffed animals. When Collum finishes with Em, Artie holds out both hands and makes grasping motions until his brother’s back in the crib with him. Then they're snuggled down, their little pj-covered rumps stuck high in the air.

Collum comes into the hall. “Those boys are certainly attached to one another,” he comments.

Arthur smiles, pulling Merlin close. “We’re heading to bed, Collum. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Alpha. Vixen.”

Collum goes into his room and shuts the door.

Arthur pulls Merlin into their room and slowly undresses him, lips following every revealed bit of flesh. “I’ve felt your extreme jealousy radiating off you all evening, Merlin,” he tells him.

“That’s ridiculous,” Merlin gasps, yanking Arthur’s shirt over his head.

“But true. It was a nice change from your near-constant worry about me, but I don’t really understand it. Do you think I want that boy?”

“He has his charms,” Merlin replies, pulling Arthur’s work trousers off his legs and kissing behind his knees.

“Should I be jealous, then?” Arthur smiles.

“No,” Merlin says, biting the sensitive skin. He tugs off Arthur’s under briefs before ridding himself of the rest of his own clothing. He can feel his arse dripping. “I want you, Arthur. So much,” he whines.

“How do you want me?” Arthur asks on a growl.

“Hard,” Merlin whispers.

“You just want our nanny to know who I want,” Arthur accuses with a smirk.

“Yes,” Merlin nods slowly.

Arthur’s answering smile is slow, feral. He sits up, takes Merlin’s chin in his hand, and kisses him slowly, tongue exploring, leaving Merlin breathless. He moves behind Merlin, pushing him forward on the bed, placing Merlin’s hands on the headboard before pushing inside of him without preamble and starting a hard rhythm that has the bed rocking.

Merlin moans, widening his knees on the mattress to take it all. Arthur lifts Merlin up on the next thrust, grasping Merlin’s hips. Merlin grits his teeth, pushing back into Arthur, making him gasp.

Arthur leans in, mouth near Merlin’s ear. “How hard do you want it, luv?” he croons, pistoning into him like a jackhammer.

“ _Hard_ ,” Merlin barks out.

Arthur adjusts his stance, fucking Merlin still more vigorously, sweat beading all over his skin. The obscene, wet slap of their bodies meeting is almost as loud as the pounding of the bed against the wall and Merlin’s moans of pleasure.

Finally, Arthur’s knot swells and he slips it past Merlin’s rim, wrenching out a prolonged cry from Merlin’s lips as he paints the headboard with clear cum. Arthur pants over him, body trembling with exertion. He pulls Merlin down onto the mattress so he can rest while they’re tied.

“You’re incorrigible,” Arthur tells him. “Making poor Collum listen to that.”

“It’s good for him,” Merlin replies hoarsely. “It’ll make him want to find himself a good mate.” He smiles with satisfaction as Arthur nestles up behind him.

“You’re a naughty boy, Merlin,” Arthur licks behind Merlin’s ear.

“Samhain is tomorrow night,” Merlin says after a moment of quiet. He’s enjoying the feeling of fullness of having his mate stuffed inside him, but he can’t completely keep the gnawing worries at bay.

“Yes,” Arthur answers. “The festival at the Freemont Ranch.”

“Do we have to go?” Merlin asks, knowing the answer.

“Yes,” Arthur tells him, licking Merlin’s mating bite.

Arthur’s knot breaks and they ride out the pleasure together, bodies trembling, fingers intertwining.

“I love you,” Merlin tells Arthur desperately. Arthur answers him with a kiss.

~~~

“So you trust me to go to Samhain?” Will asks Leon as he watches him give Higgy her bath.

“Yes, Will, you’ve proven yourself to me, and Merlin has had nothing but good things to say about you.”

“Hmph. Merlin doesn’t find it easy to keep his mouth shut over there either, you know,” Will says, pouting.

“I know,” Leon lifts Higdeth out of the tub and hands her to Will, who’s holding the towel. The little girl laughs and grabs hold of her father’s beard.

“Ouch!” Leon takes her hand away and kisses it. “Don’t mess with your father’s beard, dumpling.” He helps Will to get her pyjamas on her and put her to bed where her three brothers are already asleep.

“I heard Merlin got Collum to move in as their nanny,” Leon tells Will as they crawl into their own bed.

“When?” Will asks, surprised.

“Just today. It was bedlam over there.” Leon kisses Will. “Seems Merlin doesn’t have control over the situation like you do.”

“Nice try, but Merlin’s got two more little pups and doesn’t have the eight-year-olds to help out,” Will answers, running his fingers through the hair on Leon’s chest. “What do you think the festival will be like tomorrow night? Mitzi says they’ve never gone to it before, but they’ve heard stories about it getting rowdy. Like orgy rowdy. Plus, it’s the full moon.”

Leon’s mouth twitches. “Arthur’s not going to like it if they’re all out of control.”

“I can’t shake the feeling that the whole thing’s a bad idea. Can’t we just refuse to go?”

“Declan will take it as an insult if we do that,” Leon says. “Better to go and slip away early. Maybe after Declan’s drunk.”

Will sighs, snuggling closer to Leon. “I’m afraid,” he says in a small voice, and Leon raises his head off the pillow.

“Will…did I just hear you right? I don’t think I’ve ever heard those words out of your mouth before!”

“Shut up,” Will mutters.

Leon rests his head on the pillow again. “It will all be okay. Arthur isn’t one to rush into an altercation, you know that.”

“About certain things he might be,” Will replies.

“What do you mean?” Leon frowns.

“What’s likely to make Arthur fight Declan?” Will asks.

Leon thinks. “His pack. His children. Merlin.”

“Reverse order,” Will corrects, and Leon nods. “Besides, his children won’t be there.”

“Merlin isn’t fool enough to fall for Declan’s …well, we can’t say charms, can we?”

“No, but all Declan has to do is touch Merlin, and it’s on,” Will points out.

“Perhaps you ought to warn Merlin to completely stay out of Declan’s reach, then,” Leon says.

“I’ll mention it, but if Declan really wants to fight Arthur, he’s going to find away. It might not happen tomorrow night, but it will happen.”

Leon sighs and kisses the top of Will’s head. “Worrying won’t help anything. Go to sleep.”

But neither one of them does for a long time.

~~~  
Percy leaves Freya asleep in their bed, slips on a pair of silken trousers, and goes outside for a smoke. He rarely partakes in the rather nasty habit, but sometimes he just needs a little nicotine. The moon will be entirely full on Samhain, the night marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. Percy can feel his were blood burning in his veins. His alpha cock tents his trousers, even though he only just spent his seed inside Freya moments earlier.

The girl is getting better at taking his girth, and he finds it exciting the way she cries out when he enters her. She’s young, and therefore pliant to his tastes, willing to let him keep her shaven as he prefers. She’s a sweet girl, and he’s happy to have her as a mate. A part of him longs for something else, though, on nights such as these.

A cold breeze blows, and Percy sucks in on the cigarette, inhaling deeply.

“Happen to have another?” A voice asks, and the big man jumps, startled.

“Who’s there?” he asks.

“Donald,” comes the reply as the omega steps out of the darkness, and Percy relaxes. He pulls another rolled cigarette from his stash and lights it for Donald, handing it to him.

“It’s good,” Donald says on an exhale. “I don’t know anyone who smokes, and sometimes I crave it like sex.”

A shiver runs through Percy at his words. He sniffs the air. “You’re going into heat,” he states.

“Yes,” Donald replies. “On my way to the omega den, in fact.” He takes another drag, leaning against the post of the porch. There’s an easy grace about the man, and something incredibly sexy about his pale, pale skin and the red of his hair. It makes Percy wonder about where the freckles end and if the hair around Donald’s cock is just is red. His own cock, all fourteen inches, strains in his trousers.

“Wow,” Donald whistles low, unable not to notice. “That’s…amazing.”

The sudden, pungently sweet scent of his omega arousal permeates the air, and Donald ducks his head. “I should go.”

Percy’s eyes flash gold. “No,” he says hoarsely, tossing his cigarette over the porch and into the dirt.

Donald begins to pant, shaking fingers going to the strings of his loose trousers and lowering them.

Percy growls, stepping out of his own slacks, cock pointing like an arrow.

Donald falls to his knees, face to the ground, presenting, and Percy yanks the pales globes of Donald’s arse towards him, burying his nose near the omega juices before lapping at them hungrily. Donald whimpers, shivering. Percy mounts him, pushing in gradually, loving the feel of a tight male around him. He begins thrusting, Donald moving along with him, the moon shining down upon their primal act. Percy knots, and Donald moans as it slips past his rim.

“Take me as yours,” Donald begs him, showing his pale neck, and Percy does, biting down with sharp canines, drawing blood, his knot breaking and bringing them both to shaking completion.


	25. Samhain Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this isn't awful...wrote it quickly this AM. Have a good day!<3 Thanks for the comments. They are lovely to read after a day at work or in the morning with coffee.

Percy’s in full rut. It isn’t the way he’d prefer to tell Freya that he’s brought another mate into their family, but it can’t be helped. Donald’s in heat, and his scent is intoxicating. There’s nothing better, in Percy’s opinion, than the feeling of not having to hold back. Percy’s huge, and he’s always having to be careful, but men are stronger than women, and they can take it. After their first tie ends, Percy pulls Donald inside the door, shutting it behind them. Pushing him onto the floor, Percy proceeds to sniff and lick every inch of Donald’s body, accustoming himself to his scent.  Donald whimpers and moans, particularly when Percy noses up under his arm, lapping at the delicate skin there.

Donald’s shivering by the time Percy gets to his ultra-sensitive rim. Percy’s rather fascinated by it. It’s so pale, with reddish hairs growing around it. He licks and sucks until he has Donald sobbing, then begins to nibble. The thick, sweet omega oestrum weeping out just fuels Percy’s hunger for more. He wiggles his tongue inside, searching.

“Alpha…gods…please…” Donald begs.

Percy doesn’t realize that they’ve woken Freya. She’s seated herself in the corner of the room, watching with big eyes. She isn’t innocent enough to think that Percy would never take another mate, and quite frankly, she’s only happy that he hasn’t taken a woman. She finds the sight of the alpha with another man inexplicably hot.

Percy sticks a finger inside Donald, moving it around, and Donald moans, pushing back on it lewdly. His body is lean. Very white, with freckles all over it. There are muscles in his arms as though he’s done work on the ranch all his life, as Freya supposes he has. She looks at his eyes, misty with lust. They’re a very light blue. She crawls forward a little, drawing Percy’s attention, and though he’s very caught up in his rut, he pulls himself out of it with difficulty.

“Freya,” he moans, chest heaving, obviously unsure.

She smiles at him. “I see we have a new mate.”

Percy gives her the fondest smile she’s ever seen from him.

“Donald,” he confirms. “Donald, meet Freya.”

Donald blinks out of his stupor. He moves his hand toward her on the floor, and she grasps it.

“Join us, Freya,” he invites. “If it’s okay with you, my alpha.”

Percy nods. “By all means.” He invites Freya over to have a lick at Donald’s rump. It glistens with both Donald’s juices and Percy’s saliva. She dutifully tries it, finding the pucker to be an interesting texture on her tongue and Donald’s oestrum to be both sweet and delicious. She would continue, but Percy moans and nudges her aside, lowering his mouth to feast on Donald again.

Freya removes her night dress, noticing Donald’s appreciative gaze as she does so. She’s a little unsure of what to do. Donald raises his body up a bit from where he’s kneeling, and beckons her to lie down under him. She’s confused, and he has to guide her until finally she finds herself with her face directly under his genitals. Percy’s legs are just behind her head, and the sounds of him gorging himself on Donald’s arse enflame her. She looks up at Donald’s fat cock and ball sac hanging down. Reaching up, she grabs hold of the cock, gently, of course, and feels Donald jerk. A clear droplet falls onto her lips, and she tastes a sweetness that is good and not unlike what she tasted a moment ago.

Suddenly, Freya jolts when a warm, wet tongue licks a stripe between her legs. Gods! She glances down the naked expanse of her body. Donald! She’s never had this done before and it feels…gods, it feels delightful…she wiggles and moans, unable to concentrate. Allison spoke of this act once, but Freya wasn’t about to ask Percy to do it. Donald’s tongue is sinfully skillful.

Percy shifts behind her, seating himself, bringing Freya’s head to rest upon his thighs. In this position she can comfortably get some of Donald’s cock into her mouth. Mostly she just licks it, though, because it is much too wide to fit between her lips. It isn’t long before she comes with a cry, jerking while sucking enthusiastically on the tip of Donald’s dick until he spurts into her mouth. Percy moves then, swinging Donald away from her with one sure movement, swiftly entering him and rutting hard, much harder than Percy normally is with her. Donald seems to love it, though, and Freya watches, her body lank like a wrung out rag.

Having two mates may not be such a bad thing, she muses.

~~~

“So you’re giving me much the same duties?” Lance asks Arthur.

It’s the morning of Samhain, and the pack is to go to the festival at the Freemont Ranch that evening. As far as Lance has been able to gather, this neighboring pack could be dangerous. The leader, Declan, a huge, and by all accounts heartless wolf, is suspected of wanting to challenge Arthur in order to take over leadership of both packs, something he’d been planning to do after the death of the last leader, Rex Hobart.

“Yes, Lance,” Arthur replies, looking over his friend’s muscular body, which is in even better shape than it had been formerly. “You’ve always been an excellent guard and fighter.”

“But…I’m an omega now.”

The words are still difficult to get past Lance’s lips.

“That doesn’t mean you aren’t a good fighter,” Arthur tells him. “It only means that you have to be careful that your new omega nature doesn’t rule your sensibilities.” He cocks his head to the side. “Any idea why the Father Wolf changed you, Lance?” Arthur asks.

Lance looks away. “He said it was my destiny. I did have the choice to choose death instead.”

Arthur remains quiet before finally saying, “You’ve had some difficult choices. Love hasn’t been kind to you. Until now.”

Lance looks at his Alpha then. He nods.

“Merlin has told me that the Father Wolf has spoken to him in his dreams,” Arthur tells Lance, and Lance is shocked. The Father Wolf has spoken to Merlin, too?

“I choose to tell you this, Lance, because I trust you,” Arthur says seriously. “The message is about my death. A wolf with one brown, one blue eye will kill me. At least, may kill me. It’s a warning.”

“Thank you for your trust, Alpha,” Lance whispers. Arthur will never know what his allowing Lance back into the pack means to him, and this show of the Alpha’s former esteem is more than Lance ever thought possible.

“This evening could be dangerous or not,” Arthur continues. “Merlin has been very worried. I’ve sensed it over our bond for weeks now; it’s practically made me ill, so I can only imagine what it's been doing to him. He tried to keep it from me for a long time, but I finally forced it out of him. I know Declan wants the pack, and I try very hard every time we’re together not to let the man provoke me into a fight. It isn't easy. If you can, keep him away from Merlin tonight. If I end up having to fight Declan, and Declan wins, Merlin will survive my death if Declan should claim him and our pups.”

Lance knows he must look as sick as he feels at that thought.

“Lance, I’m trusting you to watch over them should this ever come to pass,” Arthur’s voice is serious.

At that moment, Simon bursts exuberantly into the door, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of the Alpha. Arthur doesn't turn his head at the abrupt intrusion, but steadily holds Lance’s eyes.

“Your trust in me is enormous, considering what I’ve done,” Lance whispers. “What of your second?”

“Some decisions must be made on intuition alone,” Arthur replies. “Give me your word.”

“You have it,” Lance replies.

Arthur nods, rises, and leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. Again, sorry for the errors I left you with. Just went over it again.


	26. Samhain Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about all the errors in the last bit. Man, I even found on this morning. I hope there aren't as many in this one, as I wrote it just as quickly. I tried to go over it more slowly. 
> 
> Warning: Non-con (or maybe dub-con?) in this chapter. No, not our guys.

The bonfire can be seen from miles away. Lit jack o’lanterns with ugly faces peek out from the woods along the path towards Freemont Ranch, casting an eerie feel over the evening, particularly with the full moon shining malevolently overhead. Most of the Pendragon pack has shifted, the pull of the moon already strong.

Bronwyn, a little sick with her pregnancy, opted to stay behind with the pups, along with Mitzi, Gaius, and a few other elders. Everyone else seems in good spirits and excited about the festivities, but Merlin can’t shake his ominous feeling, and remains close to Arthur, even going so far as to press his flank against him as they walk side-by-side along the road.

Arthur’s white fur almost glows in the darkness, and in his present mood, Merlin can’t help but think him a target against the black night. He chastises himself—nothing, not even the Father Wolf, has pinpointed tonight as a night of doom. There is no real reason for Merlin to be such a ninny. He tries to shake his dour mood. Up ahead the gates of the ranch stand wide open. The Pendragon pack has come a little late and missed the leading of the cattle from the field, along with whatever slaughter was made. Merlin is surprised to hear a fiddle playing a merry tune. He mentally shakes himself. What did he expect them to play at a party, a dirge?

As they cross the threshold, two wolves in rut whimper in the shadows. Most of the Pendragon pack scatter, moving toward the bonfire or the table spread with food. A large pot of spicy punch brews on a low fire, its tantalizing scent drifting on the air, making Merlin’s mouth water. Several wolves shift back to get a cup and greet the Freemonts, most of which seem in jovial moods.

Merlin immediately scans the group for Declan, wanting to know where the enemy is at all times. At Merlin’s side, Arthur shifts into human form, so Merlin follows suit, clasping Arthur’s hand in his. Arthur smiles, but doesn’t comment.

Will told Merlin earlier that he should stick to Arthur’s side like glue, and Merlin tends to agree. That, along with staying away from Declan, seem the best bet in getting through the evening unscathed. It doesn’t exactly sooth Merlin’s nerves that he isn’t the only one nervous about tonight and the rival pack leader’s intentions.

“Welcome, pack Pendragon!” Declan’s voice suddenly rings out over the area, making Merlin jump as the music fades away. Arthur squeezes his hand reassuringly. Merlin looks around and then up to see Declan standing nude in the moonlight on the top of a small rise just to the side of the bonfire. Beside him stands Phineas.

“Eat, drink, and be merry! Tonight, officially the end of the harvest, is a night for celebrating! We have had a good crop. On top of that, the moon is full. Our woods are open for the run of the _were_! My beautiful mate has given me a son, and we have several wolves who have recently mated within our pack, including Trevor, one of my favored seconds, and my dear sister, Brionna.” He looks down into the crowd. “Trevor, Brionna, please join us with your mates.”

Trevor climbs the rise on steps dug into the earth, leading Erynn by the hand, followed by Brionna and Ewan. All six pack members are nude. Declan strokes his long, broad cock, which sticks out lewdly before him.

“We officially begin our fertility festival with a celebration before our pack, and our esteemed guests, the Pendragon pack-- our witnesses. We hereby celebrate most importantly, the birth of my first son, Morpheus.” A cheer goes up in the crowd. When it dies down, Declan continues, “Secondly, we celebrate the mating of Brionna and Ewan, and Trevor and Erynn. Let the Samhain celebrations begin!”

Declan turns, pushing Phineas over and thrusting his cock into him, Trevor and Brionna do the same to their mates, rutting enthusiastically for the packs to witness. Merlin looks at Arthur out of the corner of his eye, and Will, who has scuttled close to Merlin’s other side, elbows him in the ribs.

“Jees!” Will mumbles out of the side of his mouth. Leon is instantly there, arm about Will’s shoulder.

The fucking seems to go on and on, with Trevor and Brionna finishing long before Declan does. The man seems to have the stamina of a…well, an alpha wolf, and Merlin wants to crawl into a hole for Phineas as the man is driven across the rise on his knees, face buried in his forearms as he tries to muffle the cries of pleasure he can’t help, the Freemont clan clapping rhythmically as though this were some kind of sporting event.

Merlin suddenly realizes he is probably hurting Arthur’s fingers with his death grip and loosens it. Arthur slips his arm about Merlin’s waist instead, pulling him close. Merlin hides his face in Arthur’s throat, finally unable to watch anymore.

Eventually, after Merlin feels the bile rise, entering his mouth; and tears trickle from his eyes, wetting Arthur’s neck; a cheer from the crowd signals the end of it, lively fiddling starting up again. Merlin stiffens when moments later he hears Declan’s hated voice behind him.

“So…you haven’t had any food or drink yet? Come…we have some of the finest ale this time of year made with the berries from the woods. Then we can have our run.”

Merlin can feel the muscles in Arthur’s sides straining, and he knows it’s taking everything in his alpha not to tear into the man. Merlin runs his fingers over Arthur’s skin, glad that none of them wear anything more than a brief covering tonight due to the full moon and need for shifting; the close comfort of mate’s skin—both texture and scent—soothes the both of them.

“That would be…lovely,” Arthur replies shortly, and he turns himself and Merlin toward the food.


	27. The Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur and Merlin screw rather obliviously as shit goes on. Ha, ha. So what else is new?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may seem to end rather abruptly, but I have to go to work and wanted to give you as much as possible.
> 
> Having a bit of a rough time at work. Thanks for the comments--they make me smile. Sorry I didn't get to update last night. <3

As Arthur talks to Declan and samples food from the table, Merlin’s eyes move toward the rise where Phineas rests at its base. Merlin tries to catch the other omega’s eyes, but Phineas doesn’t look up. It bothers Merlin that none of the other omegas from Phineas' pack are with him. The two that Merlin feels sure normally would be, Ewan and Erynn, are nowhere to be seen—probably too mortified in their own right to give any comfort. Merlin is certain Declan has ordered Phineas not to leave the festivities.

Knowing that Arthur cannot break off conversation with the Freemont pack leader, and that Merlin himself should not leave Arthur’s side, Merlin glances around and gains the attention of Nim, calling her over.

“Would you please check on Phineas?” he whispers in her ear. “We’ve become friends, and he’s all alone over there.” He discreetly motions to the base of the rise. Nim’s eyes grow soft with sympathy when she sees the handsome wolf sprawled there.

“That was awful, wasn’t it?” she whispers into Merlin’s ear, and he nods. “I’ll go straightaway.” Merlin smiles his thanks, watching as Nim motions to Sophia and heads in that direction.

Feeling a little better, Merlin turns his attention to the food, catching snippets of Arthur and Declan’s conversation here and there, which seems to be about the previous ceremony and the fact that the Pendragon pack doesn’t practice the centuries-old ritual of mating in public. Declan seems to find this absurd since Pendragon pack is such an ancient pack in its own right.

Merlin remembers his and Arthur’s mating ceremony and how Merlin had expected to be taken in public that night and blushes furiously, noticing with wonder that he still gets slightly hard at the thought of Arthur doing that to him. He supposes if Arthur were like Declan, he would have taken him in front of the pack after the birth of their six pups, too. Would Arthur have taken him six times, Merlin wonders?

“Merlin?” Arthur interrupts his mate’s rather perverted reverie, and Merlin drops the chicken laxly dangling from his fingers.

“Hm? What?” Arthur’s offering him a cup of the spicy punch, eyes dancing.

“Where’s Declan?” Merlin asks, taking the cup and glancing over Arthur’s shoulder to where the other pack leader had been standing only moments before.

“He delivered the punch to us and said he was going to run with his second.”

Merlin takes a sip, looking around.

Everywhere wolves are shifting and taking off at a run into the woods.

“Would you rather run?” Arthur asks, eyebrow rising as a prickle of excitement runs through their bond.

Merlin grins, and they both set their cups down, shifting quickly, and race off past the dark tree line and the evil faces of the burning jack o’ lanterns.

The night is chilly and a dense fog hovers over the dry leaves crackling under their paws as they zig-zag through the dark forest. Howls echo throughout the timberland, primitive and beautiful, making Merlin’s heart hammer hard within the walls of his chest. His legs burn as he struggles to keep up with Arthur.

The moon pulls at them, its influence stronger than usual, and Merlin is filled with a wild energy that threatens to burst him open without the proper outlet.

Merlin runs faster, Arthur always slightly ahead of him, nipping at Arthur’s tail, dangling so temptingly, always just an inch or two ahead. Suddenly, Arthur growls, slows, and flips, allowing Merlin to overtake him, and they roll until Arthur is atop Merlin, Merlin readily submitting, baring the small patch of white fur against black where his mating mark is for Arthur to nibble at with his sharp canines. Tonight, more than ever, it feels like a swift stroke to the cock.

Arthur sniffs along Merlin’s wolf body with his white snout, licking at him until his cock unsheathes, then nosing up under Merlin’s tail to scent his glans, deliciously long wolf tongue curling up inside Merlin’s needy hole.  Merlin’s blood runs hot, a dizziness of lust overcoming him like no other he’s ever experienced before, even in his strongest heats. He rolls, and Arthur mounts him, fucking him into a frenzy, the both of them howling toward the fat, white moon above them as Arthur gradually knots, bringing Merlin to an orgasm so strong, it makes him shift under Arthur’s wolf form.

All around them, similar noises of wolves in rut rise among the trees, and Merlin lies panting under the huge, white wolf, the animal’s cock and knot buried deep within his slightly less accommodating rectum. He moans, and Arthur licks his neck, pumping into him restlessly and whining. Merlin buries his face in the dirt and leaves, mouth dry, riding out the occasional orgasmic aftershocks, waiting for Arthur’s baseball-sized knot to burst within him. When it finally does, it makes Merlin’s eyes roll back in his head, his body trembling from toes to head with pleasure so strong, he nearly loses consciousness.

Arthur seems just as affected and shifts immediately afterward, cursing quietly in Merlin’s ear.

“What the fuck…” he finally breathes.

“I know,” Merlin looks at him, head on Arthur’s shoulder. “Is it because of the full moon occurring on Samhain?”

“I don’t know,” Arthur groans. “But I’m fucking hard again!”

Merlin realizes that he is, too.

It’s going to be a long night.

~~~

Arthur has put his trust in Lance, and Lance is determined not to let his Alpha down ever again.

“Would you please try to relax?” Simon pleads with him for the fifth time, but Lance can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right.

The spectacle on the rise earlier in the evening was so disgusting; Lance is still reeling from it. Simon tells him that the Freemont pack is more primitive in their rituals, and Lance can well believe it. The thought of the Pendragon pack ever falling to them is revolting and simply not to be born.

Lance watches as Percy, Freya, and Donald take their food over to a corner and sit together.

“Percy has taken Donald as a second mate,” Simon tells Lance, noticing the direction of his glance.

“They look happy,” Lance replies.

Simon nods. “They do.”

Lance notices that Simon is covertly observing another corner where Mithian sits with a couple members of the Freemont pack.

“What’s going on there, do you think?” Lance asks.

“Since the whipping, Mithian has become friendlier with members of Declan’s pack. The girl she’s sitting with is called Bretta,” Simon replies. “I don’t know the boy’s name.” He watches a moment longer before saying, “I’ve never seen her dress like that before.”

Mithian is wearing very colorful clothing that she’s most likely borrowed from the other girl, and she’s flirting rather shamelessly with the Freemont pack boy—not at all like the innocent flirting she once did with Simon. He tells this to Lance.

Jealousy stirs in Lance’s chest. “She flirted with you?” he can’t help but ask Simon.

Simon grins, nuzzling Lance’s mating bite. “Yes. She wanted me.”

Lance breathes in through his nose. “Did she ever…get you?”

Simon laughs. “I told you,” he says in Lance’s ear, hot breath doing things below the omega’s waist. “I came to you a…virgin.” He says the last word in a way that makes Lance want to present…badly.

He makes a noise in his throat.


	28. Lust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Samhain continues with the full moon overhead, Arthur, Merlin, and the others struggle with their urges as it becomes apparent that something more is going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all who continue to comment! Miss the guys, tho! Anthony? ArchRoman? Where art thou?

“Arthur,” Merlin pants. “I’m…I’m getting sore.” He digs his fingernails into the ground as Arthur pushes his knot past Merlin’s rim, the feeling both painful and very, very pleasant.

They’ve been rutting for a solid hour. Merlin’s body is on fire. It’s like being in heat, but not like it. He doesn’t know what’s wrong with him, and it’s beginning to frighten him.

“Arthur, I’m scared,” he whimpers, and Arthur’s hips stutter for a moment. “I’m trying, Merlin,” he grits out. “Really, I am. I can’t…help it. I want you so much. I need you.”

“Merlin!” A voice calls to him from somewhere to the left, and both men turn their heads to look.

 “Mordred?” Merlin calls.

“Gods, my cock is going to fall off!” Arthur moans as his knot breaks, and he spurts cum into Merlin.

Rustling in the leaves followed by Mordred breaking through the bushes and falling into the brush at their side briefly knocks Arthur loose from between Merlin’s legs. He struggles to right himself, but in his weakened state, he topples over instead.

“Help me! Cenred’s gone mad, and he won’t stop fucking me!” Mordred pants. Cenred crashes through the foliage next.

“There you are!” he crows, cock in hand, and Mordred scrambles to get behind Arthur, who positions himself behind Merlin once more.

“You mean to say you don’t want him to?” Merlin asks over his shoulder, pushing back with a moan as Arthur enters with a swift thrust.

“I did the first five times,” Mordred gasps. “I had trouble getting the pups to sleep. Cenred came without me. All of a sudden, he showed back up at home in wolf form, chased me all the way here—we haven’t stopped rutting since.”

Mordred’s eyes are huge.

“What the hell’s _wrong_ with him? What the hell’s wrong with _you_? Weren’t you just in heat, Merlin?” He rounds to the other side of the rutting couple, Cenred in pursuit.

Merlin gasps at a well-aimed thrust, his cock emitting what little cum is left in him. “We can’t seem to stop. Something is wrong…we thought it was the moon…or the night. Or the moon _and_ the night. But if you’re not affected…”

“The food or punch,” Arthur grits out, body convulsing as fingers scramble for purchase on Merlin’s sweat-slick hips. He falls over on top of Merlin, flattening him in the leaves, before rolling off. “Must be.”

Cenred has caught Mordred and now pins him to the ground.

“I can’t help it, Mordred,” he croaks as he throws his mate’s legs over muscled arms and swiftly enters him.

“Declan’s done this—why?” Merlin asks, face close to Mordred’s. “For the orgy, or for more nefarious purposes?” But Mordred’s too overcome to contemplate it now.

“Alpha?” Lance and Simon appear from behind the trees.

“Lance, don’t eat or drink,” Arthur tells them, chest still heaving from exertion.

“I had a bite of chicken,” Simon replies, eyeing Cenred’s hips pumping fast, arse clenched, tied hair coming undone over his shoulders, abdomen muscles taut. Mordred’s body is curled almost double, head thrown back, mouth open, eyes squeezed shut in ecstasy.

“No punch?” Merlin asks.

Simon shakes his head, dazed. “Only water.”

“I had water, too,” Lance replies, watching as Cenred raises a foot to the ground to get better purchase and Mordred cries out, body arching off the ground. “And the.. f-fruit.”

Merlin and Arthur share a look. “It must be the punch, then.”

Arthur looks at Lance and Simon. “It’s making us all crazy with lust.” Already his cock is rising again, and everyone notices. Everyone except Cenred and Mordred, that is. Merlin actually winces, turning over to cover his weeping, but exhausted, opening.

“Shit!” Arthur growls, more at the situation than at Merlin denying him, though a little of both. Cenred’s still pounding into Mordred, and Arthur’s a bit jealous. “Do you think it will wear off soon?”

“It’s got to… eventually,” Lance answers doubtfully.

“Gods, Cenred!” Mordred yells, clutching at his alpha’s forearms as his knots swells and Cenred forces it in.

“Have you seen that bastard Declan?” Arthur barks irritably, hands stroking his neglected member.

“We were looking for him when Lance heard your voice,” Simon answers.

“I only had a sip of the punch,” Merlin says. “I’m beginning to feel better.”

“I didn’t have much,” Arthur tells him, licking his lips and tugging harder on his cock. Merlin swallows with difficulty.

Arthur stands a little unsteadily and heads back in the direction of the bonfire. He hears Cenred finish behind him with a gasp and he calls, “Get hold of yourself, Cenred, and come on.”

Soon they are all trooping past the tree line, a bedraggled group, erect cocks dripping.

They are met by a regular orgy, the flames of the fire casting a hellish glow over it. To the right, Arthur spots Freya’s small form perched backward on Percy’s huge cock, riding him in undulating waves, while Donald lies between their legs licking greedily at both Percy’s balls and Freya’s cunny. To his left, several members of the Freemont pack form a stack of writhing, rutting bodies. Many people eat food off one another.

Arthur doesn’t see Declan. He says this aloud, and Merlin’s hand squeezes his.

“I’ll find Phineas and ask him.”

Merlin’s eyes search the base of the rise, where he’d last seen his friend after the public spectacle, but Phineas isn’t there. He remembers sending Nim to comfort Phineas, and bites his lip, looking toward the omega den. He whispers in Arthur’s ear where he’s going and that he’ll be right back. Arthur turns to keep an eye in that direction as he goes—the omega den only a few yards away.

Merlin yanks Mordred’s arm, taking him with him.

“We’re lucky we have true mates,” Merlin tells Mordred as they make their way over rutting bodies, “or Arthur and Cenred would more than likely be fucking anything with a hole right now.”

Mordred nods. “Where are we going?”

“I need to find Phineas. I sent Nim to comfort him—you missed the public fucking Declan put on earlier to celebrate the birth of his son.”

“Gods,” Mordred mutters.

They enter the dark den, sounds of passion immediately meeting their ears.

“Think we found both Declan and Phineas?” Mordred whispers.

 A sense of foreboding envelopes Merlin, making the hairs stand on the back of his neck.

“Why do I think it’s not going to be that easy?” he whispers back.


	29. Devious Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been reading back a little and cleaning things up. Sorry for delays in writing.
> 
> Warning: not dub-con, but...rough public sex. Again.

 

Bretta elbows Mithian in the ribs. “Here he comes. Now’s your chance.” She shoves Mithian forward.

Mithian stumbles before righting herself. There must be alcohol in the punch, because approaching the huge Alpha of the rival pack is much easier than it should be.

“Alpha?” she says only a little tentatively, reaching out to touch his arm roped with muscle. He looks over at her. He’s just shifted from his silver wolf form, having been running under the full moon in the forest. Sweat drips down his bare chest. He stands, feet apart and arms akimbo.

“Yes?” he asks, eyeing her.

“My name is Mithian,” she replies, suddenly nervous now that his dark, calculating eyes are upon her. “A member of your pack…Bretta…she told me…um…she told me…”

Declan doesn’t prompt or give any other help to get Mithian through the torturous words. He simply waits, face granite.

Finally Mithian simply rushes through them. “She said it might be possible for me to change packs.”

Declan’s heavy left brow rises, and he again looks Mithian over. “You’re a beta,” he finally says. “Not of much use to me.”

Mithian hadn’t expected that. “I suppose not,” she finally replies, dejected.

“So why would I want you in my pack?” he asks her, coal eyes unwavering. “You can’t give me children.”

She searches for a good reason, her mind landing on the fact that he recently had his first child with his omega mate.

“I’m very good with babies,” she says. “I could take care of yours. A nanny of sorts.”

“I have plenty who could be a nanny,” Declan tells her with scorn. “What else can you do?”

“Um…clean your home?” Mithian offers.

Declan nods, waiting.

“I can cut hair,” Mithian adds. “Cook.”

Mithian is at a total loss and about to slink away when Declan asks, “Are you untried?”

“Untried?” Mithian asks. “Oh, you mean…um. No. I’ve been with a man before.”

Declan nods. “Perhaps there’s a place for you in my household.”

Mithian looks over her shoulder again at Bretta, who gives her a thumbs up and a bright smile.

“T-thank you,” Mithian replies.

“Pack law says that if you want to switch packs, you must agree to the pack leader rutting with you,” Declan tells her. “Do you agree?”

Mithian swallows before nodding.

Declan looks over his shoulder at Trevor, and also at Bretta and a few other people standing around. “You are our witnesses.” He steps forward, pulling Mithian into a rough kiss. His lips are dry, and after a second his tongue pushes into her mouth and she feels his hand fondling her breast before moving downward to hike her skirt up. Mithian’s feet leave the ground as Declan easily lifts her up, pushing his cock into her without preparation, snagging on her delicate inner tissues as he begins thrusting, turning their bodies so that Trevor can take the weight of her back against his broad chest. She shivers as she feels the other man’s fingers reach under her shirt to play with her nipples, and raises her eyes to see if Declan notices that his nephew is taking this liberty. Declan does, but only tells Trevor to lift Mithian's shirt and thrusts harder into her.

Trevor dutifully bares her breasts. Mithian’s never had an alpha inside her before, and she cries out multiple times, attracting a crowd, most of which begin to clap and chant as they did when Declan had rutted with Phineas earlier. It’s humiliating and arousing, both, and Mithian soon feels her passage growing wet, which seems to please Declan, who smiles smugly at her.

“A slut,” he tells her. “Good.”

 It isn’t long before Mithian recognizes Arthur’s voice shouting above the others, “What is the meaning of this?”

And she thinks rather smugly to herself that there will be no public whipping this time.

~~~

The omega den is dark, but Merlin follows the sounds of giggles until he finds a very surprising foursome.

Mordred’s gasp behind him tells Merlin that he’s not the only one surprised.

Nim and Sophia giggle as they hold a moaning Gwaine open for Phineas, who lies sprawled decadently between the alpha’s legs, feasting on his bare arse.

“Gods, Gwaine!” Merlin barks. “Get hold of yourself! Phineas! What if Declan comes in here? Do you want to start a pack war?” He and Mordred immediately move forward and each grab one of Phineas’s legs, pulling him away from Gwaine, who is breathing hard.

“Aw, Merlin!” Nim pouts. “You’re ruining our fun!

“The punch is drugged!” Merlin tells her severely. “Everyone’s in rut. He grasps Phineas’s cheeks roughly between his fingers. “Phinny, focus on me!”

Phineas’s pupils are blown. Merlin slaps his face, and the man finally seems to come to.

“Merlin?”

“The punch…what’s in it?”

Phineas blinks rapidly. “I…something. An aphrodisiac, I think.”

“Why?” Mordred asks.

“There always is at Samhain. But this is stronger.” He looks at Merlin mournfully. “Declan wanted me to give some to Arthur. To seduce him. But I chose Gwaine instead. I couldn’t do that to you, Merlin.”

“This still could give Declan reason to fight Arthur,” Merlin grits out through clenched teeth.

“I want Arthur to win,” Phineas grabs Merlin’s hands. “Please…let Arthur kill Declan,” he whispers fervently. “Take me from here.”

Merlin suddenly feels a pull through his bond. “Something’s happening,” he tells them, lifting his head. “Come on!” He turns and runs from the den.


	30. Mithian's Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur learns of Mithian's decision. Cenred feels like a heel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I started to post this, something would happen to prevent me. *sigh* So this isn't even all that long and it's taken me all day to get it posted!

“This girl is a member of my pack!” Arthur shouts, Lance and Simon at his side. The cheering dies away and the crowd is silent.

“Not any longer,” Declan declares, slipping out of Mithian without bothering to knot. Instead, he has Trevor push her to her knees and, with a couple of firm tugs to his cock, Declan jacks his seed onto Mithian’s face. He ends by urinating on her for good measure. “She requested to transfer to my pack in front of these witnesses and agreed to be mated.”

Arthur’s mouth falls open, and he looks around. “Is this true? Did she request this?”

Several heads nod. Arthur’s eyes fall upon Mithian, her blouse torn and her skirt wet with urine and dirt.

“Why, Mithian?” he asks, voice softer. The wind whistles through the trees and the fire pops behind them, sending sparks into the dark night sky. Wolves howl in the distant woods. Merlin, Mordred, and the others join the group.

Mithian raises defiant eyes to meet Arthur’s. “I want to be able to date the human men if I want to. I should be able to without them knowing I’m a were. Your rule is stupid.”

“You’re the one who’s stupid, Mithian!” Someone in the crowd mutters, and a few laugh.

Arthur frowns at Mithian. “And that’s a good reason to switch to a pack where you’ll be beaten and humiliated?”

“You had me flogged publicly!” Mithian reminds him.

“Because you broke pack law, not for my own pleasure,” Arthur counters.

“Phineas! Where have you been?” Declan barks, interrupting whatever else Arthur or Mithian might say, eyes focusing behind them on his omega; he doesn’t look pleased.

 “I’ve…been taking a nap in the omega den,” Phineas answers. “I haven’t felt well.”

Declan’s eyes narrow, taking in the rest of the group who exited the den with Phineas.

“Declan,” Arthur turns on the other pack leader, drawing his attention away from the group. “The punch has been drugged. My entire pack has been fornicating in the woods for hours.”

Declan smiles slowly, white teeth flashing in the darkness. “It’s Samhain and a full moon. Enjoy yourselves!”

He then turns, eyeing Merlin in a way that Arthur does not like. Leon and Gwaine both immediately step in front of the omega Vixen, blocking him from view.

“I think we will go home now,” Arthur replies, turning his back on Mithian. “Thank you for your hospitality.” With that, Arthur’s eyes flash gold, he tilts his head back, and he lets out a long, spine-chilling howl.

From all around, wolves appear from out of the woods, some stumbling because they’re still connected to one another. Arthur shifts into his wolf form, Merlin following suit, and they head south in a streak of white and black fur toward Hobart Ranch, the jack o’ lanterns lighting their way as the moon falls behind a gathering of clouds.

The effects of the punch are wearing off and Gwaine looks over to where Phineas is huddled beneath a tree. Making sure that Declan is not watching, he approaches the omega and tells him in a low voice, “My mates have long been eager to see me with another man. I didn’t mean to take advantage of you. I’m sorry.”

The look Phineas gives Gwaine in return is so full of longing, it jars the alpha. He pulls his gaze away and signals for Nim and Sophia to shift. They head out of the gates at a run.

~~~

Cenred apologizes to Mordred as they enter their house after picking the boys up from Mitzi and putting them to bed.

“It’s all right; you were drugged,” Mordred tells him for the tenth time. “I can’t hold that against you, Cenred! In fact, I’m rather impressed you didn’t screw everything that moved rather than coming back here to get me.”

Cenred sits on the couch, as close to a pout as Mordred’s ever seen him.

Mordred comes to stand before his alpha. “What’s wrong?”

Cenred turns his head away. Undaunted, Mordred climbs onto Cenred’s lap, straddling him.

“Tell me.”

“I just don’t like…forcing you,” Cenred admits in a low growl. “Even that first time, you invited me into the omega den—I didn’t make you do it with me.”

Mordred raises a brow. “Cenred, you’re never _forcing_ me. I always want to when it’s with you. But tonight freaked me out a little. I knew something was wrong.”

“I drank quite a bit of the punch while waiting around,” Cenred admits. “I didn’t know what was in it, of course. I was overcome…I came all the way back here for you…on fire with longing. I’m sorry I scared you.” Cenred looks at the wall rather than meet Mordred’s eyes.

Mordred places his palms on each side of Cenred’s face, forcing the man to look at him. “It’s okay. Really. I wasn’t afraid of you…I was afraid of what was happening.” He kisses him softly. Once. Twice, until Cenred finally relaxes.

“We need to stay away from that pack,” Cenred tells Mordred. “More and more, Declan makes Arthur feel the fool. Arthur will snap one of these days and fight him, although perhaps that may be for the best.”

“Unless Declan wins,” Mordred says with a shiver.

Cenred nods, kissing Mordred again before lifting him off his lap and taking him to bed.


	31. Stay Away from Declan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fell asleep last night before I could post this. Hope nobody's too disappointed not to get the big confrontation at Samhain.
> 
> Warnings: Non-con. Cruelty to Mithian.

Collum decided to leave the bonfire early and get the children from Mitzi, putting them to bed. He meets Merlin at the door, watching as Arthur goes straight to the bathroom and the shower.

“It was crazy there,” Collum says. “I didn’t stay long.” To his mind, the Alpha looks crazed with anger and restraint, and the Vixen very fatigued.

“You were right not to,” Merlin tells him. “The punch was drugged.”

“I didn’t have any,” Collum replies, surprised. “Drugged with what?”

“An aphrodisiac.”

Collum nods. “I’ve heard of such on Samhain. I saw a lot of people doing--things. I’m never very comfortable on the full moon anyway. I’m too shy.”

Merlin smiles at him, putting a hand on his broad shoulder. “Well, thanks for getting the kids to bed. Did you have any trouble?”

“No, they were pretty worn out. I’ll go on to bed now. Goodnight.” Collum heads to his room and wishes he could stuff cotton in his ears so he wouldn’t hear another bout of hot sex from the Alpha and his Vixen, but then he wouldn’t be able to hear the children if they cried out in the night. Instead, he resigns himself to make the best of it, gets a jar of grease from his bedside drawer, and gets comfortable.

Merlin goes into the bathroom, stripping off and stepping into the shower stall behind Arthur, soaping up his back for him, feeling the tension in his alpha’s muscles.

“I’m sorry, Arthur,” he says into Arthur’s ear.

“For what?” Arthur asks on a sigh, leaning his forehead against the cold tiles.

“For all the pain you’ve been through. Mithian is an idiot. She deserves everything she’s going to get as a member of the Freemont pack. I don’t even feel sorry for her.”

Arthur gives Merlin a small smile over his shoulder. “That’s not like you, Merlin. She’s just young and confused. She’s probably already regretting her decision.”

“I don’t care,” Merlin replies stubbornly, pressing a kiss to Arthur’s wet shoulder. “She hurt your feelings.”

Arthur barks out a soft laugh, but doesn’t argue. Merlin presses up against him, his thick cock pushing in between the cheeks of Arthur’s arse, sliding up and down in a tantalizing manner. Arthur hums in his throat as Merlin reaches around to soap Arthur’s cock with deft fingers, teasing him.

In a matter of seconds, Arthur has Merlin against the opposite wall, legs around Arthur’s waist, cock buried deep inside Merlin’s arse, Merlin’s head leaning back on wet tile, mouth open and moaning loudly over the crash of the water around them.

“Fuck, Arthur, Fuck!” Merlin cries out, and Arthur thrusts hard, already feeling relief of the awful tension that had begun building the moment they’d set out for Freemont Ranch hours earlier, which was probably Merlin’s intention in the first place, gods bless him.

Declan has a way of making Arthur feel such a fool. Every time he’s around the other pack leader, Arthur hates Declan more and more. He wants to swipe the self-satisfied smirk from the man’s face with extended wolf claws—rid them all of his very presence. Part of Arthur really thought it would all come to a head that night, and he’d been ready for it. Now he’s coming down from the adrenalin high, his body crashing. He knots, rocking his hips back and forth, pushing the hard bulge of semen inside Merlin’s tight rim, making him squirm and tighten his legs around Arthur’s waist, fat cock pulsing out clear cum over Arthur’s stomach as soft moans escape Merlin’s lips.

Arthur leans in and kisses Merlin, sucking on his mouth, enjoying the feeling of being tied with him. The water begins to go cold, and Arthur reaches back behind them, shutting it off. They continue to kiss until Arthur’s knot finally breaks, pleasure breaking over them both like waves, one after another, and Arthur buries his face in Merlin’s neck, overcome.

It’s on rubbery legs that they make their way to the bedroom and bed, curling up together under the blankets. Arthur can almost forget the sour experience of the evening as he closes his eyes and lets sleep overtake him.

~~~

“As promised, Declan is giving your family this larger home,” Trevor tells Bretta. “You may move into it tomorrow.”

Bretta looks up at the spacious house situated near the kitchen house. Her present tiny cottage is located near the public latrine and barely accommodates her large family. “That’s most generous of him,” she replies, awed.

“He was most pleased with the way you came through for him,” Trevor replies, giving the girl a smile and a pat on the rump. “You’re very clever, and quick, too.”

Bretta dimples for him. “It wasn’t very difficult. The girl is quite stupid, and so angry with her alpha. But I did talk her up good, I guess.” She squeezes her hands together, excited. “This new house will be just big enough for my family.”

Trevor nods his head. “The Alpha rewards those who obey him,” he reminds her before turning to make his way home to his pretty new mate, stopping by the Alpha’s for a moment to let him know that Bretta will be moving her family on the morrow. The bonfire’s been put out, and most wolves have returned home, although a few still rut in the shadows.

When he reaches the open door of the Alpha’s house, he sees Phineas nursing his pup in one room and Declan with the new girl in the other. He has her naked and by the hair, servicing him with her mouth. Declan looks up when Trevor pauses in the doorway.

“I took care of that business for you,” he tells Declan.

“Thank you, Trevor,” Declan replies, using Mithian’s hair to maneuver her head over his cock. She’s gagging on him, unable to take in his full length.

“Have a good night, then,” Trevor tells him, turning to go.

“I will,” Declan declares. “I’m going to let Phineas rest tonight, since he’s not feeling up to par, and I find myself with a new toy.” He looks down at Mithian, lifting her head off his lap by the hair. Spittle streams down her chin. There is still a bit of defiance in her eyes, and this makes Trevor smile. He knows it won’t be there on the morrow.

“As soon as Phineas weans Morpheus,” Declan continues, “I’d like to get him with child again. Slower, girl, and less teeth,” he tells Mithian before lowering her face again. “I want another omega for my bed…I’d like more children.”

“I’ll get right on that,” Trevor replies. “There are a few suitable omegas for you.”

"I already have one in mind," Declan tells him.

Trevor leaves and enters his own home next door where Erynn waits up for him. She’s a comely girl, and very sweet. He kisses her, placing his hands on her wide hips.

“You didn’t have to wait up,” he tells her.

“I just wanted to make sure you were all right,” Erynn blushes prettily.

“Did the whole public mating thing embarrass you?” Trevor asks. He hadn’t really thought about it before, but he supposes it might be a bit embarrassing for the one being fucked.

“A little, I guess,” Erynn replies. “It wasn’t too bad.” She looks at him from under her lashes, and he sniffs the air.

“Something smells mighty fine,” he notes. It’s a bit like fresh fruit and sunshine, he thinks. He gets closer to her, pressing his nose to her mating bite and drawing in air. “Gods, you smell good.”

She wiggles in his arms. “My heat is coming on,” she tells him, unable to stop herself from rubbing up against his growing hardness.

“Ah, then… let’s go into the bedroom,” Trevor suggests, pulling out his cock.

~~~

Merlin hates to have to do it, but he stays away from the Freemont pack. He feels like he’s completely abandoning Phineas, who needs his friends, but Merlin’s afraid to be around Declan. He confides this to the other omegas in their den one evening when their alphas are having a meeting of their own.

“It can’t be helped,” Mordred tells Merlin, lying down beside him and putting his head in Merlin’s lap. “Declan knows that the best way to get Arthur to fight is to mess with you. Did you see the way he looked at you that night? Like he wanted to eat you alive. Or at least lick you all over.”

Merlin shudders at the very thought. Declan is vile.

“True,” Will agrees. “Phineas told you as much. If he’d done what Declan wanted him to at Samhain, things would have gone very differently.”

“I had to get Collum to help me physically restrain Arthur from going back over there the next morning when I told him about that,” Merlin admits.

“Gwaine feels badly about Phineas, too,” Nim tells them. “He won’t say it so much in words, but he really likes him. I know he’d mate him if he was in this pack. I wish it were possible.”

Merlin and Mordred share a look. They both know that Phineas harbors a crush for Gwaine.

“Nim,” Merlin turns hard eyes on her, remembering the havoc she could have caused in her foolishess. “I know you were under the influence of a drug, but you used very poor judgment that night.”

When Nim holds up a hand to stop Merlin, it shakes a little. “Please. The Alpha’s already chewed me out, and so has Gwaine to an extent. Not you, too.” Her tone remains light, but her eyes are pleading. Merlin backs off.

“We aren’t able to check on Ewan,” Freya says mournfully. “I still worry about him.” She brightens. “But maybe I can go visit, Merlin? Surely there’s no harm in that?”

“I don’t know. You’re with pups, Freya. A delicate condition,” Merlin answers. Will gives him a look.

“Like you didn’t go gallivanting all over hill and dale when you had six pups weighing you down,” Will says wryly, making everyone laugh.

“Remember how we hid in the bushes, Merlin, and had to hold one another up, we were so big?” Mordred reminds him.

Merlin smiles, although memories of spying on Morgana lead to darker thoughts.

“I sincerely doubt Arthur will let anyone go visit the Freemont pack,” he tells them all, and he’s right.

Arthur forbids it, and the snows settle in on them for the winter. 


	32. Duplicity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Declan makes his plans, Freya weakens, new pups are born, and Donald is eaten by guilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any lurkers? I'd love to hear from you. Have you been here from day one? Any newbies? I'm afraid some readers may be growing tired of the entire thing.

Declan stands atop the rise, a lone silver wolf surveying the snowy valley below. The seed planted itself in his mind on Samhain, and since then it has grown, the tendrils of its vines taking hold of every part of him until it’s all he thinks about. The November snows have prevented much wandering of the packs, and Declan suspects that Arthur Pendragon has forbidden his pack from crossing territories, but Declan has found time now and again in the past weeks to do some spying.

He races down the hill, snow spraying behind his paws, and shifts before taking his usual place behind the rotten remains of a fallen oak, making certain that he is downwind and far enough away to be out of scent range of the other Alpha. Declan immediately realizes when the two appear that Merlin is in heat. He can smell the tantalizing scent drifting his way, and Declan has to grasp his cock firmly at its base to keep from acting on his urges. Grabbing handfuls of grass from beneath the snow, Declan wads them up, stuffing them into his nostrils. It helps a bit, but the sight of Merlin, lean and pale with the glittering snow as a backdrop, makes Declan want to force the omega to the ground in submission to him.

He’s been coming here often, ever since he learned from Donald, a reluctant spy whose parents and siblings still live in Declan’s pack, that Merlin bathes in this spring. Unfortunately, the stunning omega never bathes alone. This time it seems that Declan is going to have to watch yet another sickeningly sweet love-making session between the Vixen and his blond Alpha—something that Declan doesn’t understand in the least. It must have something to do with the true-mate connection, because why they waste so much time kissing and toying with one another when they could be rutting is beyond his comprehension.

Declan watches the large Alpha, whose body is beautiful in its own right, worshipping Merlin’s omega cock, wondering what in the hell he’s doing it for. The omega cock is there for no purpose other than ornamentation, as far as Declan is concerned, and while Declan finds it arousing in its pudgy pink rigidity, he has no desire whatsoever to put his mouth on it; yet here Pendragon is, opening his pretty lips unbelievably wide to take it all in, making Merlin squirm on the shore of the icy waters and call out his name to the heavens. Declan has to admit there’s some lure in that…and gives his own cock a rough tug as he watches.

After that’s over, and Declan has spent his seed in the snow watching Merlin’s legs flailing on either side of Arthur’s bobbing blond head, Pendragon lies down in the snow, and Merlin hovers over him backward, unknowingly facing Declan, lowering himself on Arthur’s long alpha cock—Declan jealously notes Arthur’s shaft’s an inch or two longer than his own.

Merlin’s obvious enjoyment of taking over the rut this way is a marvel to watch, although Declan knows there’s no way in hell he’d ever release the upper hand to an omega like this. Pendragon is definitely a pussy of the highest order, and Declan has no doubt it will be easy to kill him in a fight. That time is quickly coming, and then Merlin will be all Declan’s. The first thing Declan will do is get Merlin with pups. He carried six for Pendragon. Six! Compare that to the measley two Phineas bore him, and one of those died. Thank the gods it was the useless girl, who more than likely would have been a beta. If it hadn’t been for his beautiful Morpheus, Declan would have killed Phineas long ago, as gorgeous as he is.

As the lustful cries of Pendragon and his mate fill Declan’s ears, he turns away, his plans for the future cementing in his mind.

~~~

“Bronwyn’s had her pups,” a tired-looking Freya announces one December morning at the breakfast table.

Percy pats her hand. “You look worn out, little flower.”

She smiles. “I’m all right.”

“How many?” Donald asks her, coming behind the girl to rub her bony shoulders. She seems like a matchstick these days, all the nutrients they feed her going to the tiny bump of her belly.

“Four! They’re lovely. All girls save one. Odin’s over the moon.” Freya yawns, drooping a little, and Percy gets up from the table, bending to pick her up and carry her to their bed. He and Donald share a worried look between them, but they don’t say anything about it.

“I’ll take them some fruit,” Donald calls to Percy, who nods, crawling into bed behind Freya and cradling her to him. Donald sighs. Freya doesn’t look like she can survive birthing even one pup, even in her wolf form. He’s seen it in Gaius’s eyes, although the old man continues to search the woods for strength-building herbs.

Donald makes his way across the ranch, stopping to speak to friends here and there. Living in the Pendragon pack is so much more pleasant than it had been in the Freemont pack—there’s simply no comparison. Donald doesn’t know how he got so lucky. It pains him that he occasionally has to give Declan snippets of information, but what can he do when the pack leader holds the lives of Donald’s family in his hands? His elderly parents and his two sisters, one of which is an omega whom he recently heard that Declan has taken as a second mate? It pains him to think of young Bridey as Declan’s. He shivers, knowing Declan chose her on purpose to keep Donald in line.

When he reaches Odin’s door, he knocks gently, shifting his basket of fruit to his other arm.

Eira opens the door, a smile on her face. “Donald! Welcome!” She steps back. “Come to see our beautiful pups?”

“Yes!” Donald smiles, stepping inside.

Lamia sits on the bed beside Bronwyn, who is currently in wolf form nursing her hungry pups.

“Gorgeous,” Donald admires, and Odin puffs up with pride from his spot by the window.

“I am going to go announce it at the main house,” Odin says, smiling broadly. “Ladies, you have a nice visit with Donald.” He struts out a bit like a peacock, and the girls giggle when he’s gone.

“How is Freya doing?” Lamia asks. “She stayed here all night helping, and she looked like she could fall down.”

“She’s sleeping,” Donald tells her. “Percy’s with her.”

“Poor thing,” Eira shakes her head sadly. “So sweet. Always so kind to everyone.”

They all look at the floor. The pups have fallen asleep, and Bronwyn shifts back to human form.

“I’m so worried about her,” she whispers, eyes wide. “Donald…she doesn’t look well at all. The farther the pregnancy progresses, the worse she looks.”

“I know,” Donald nods. “Percy blames himself. He always thought she might not be able to carry pups. After she didn’t get pregnant the first time, he considered not spending himself inside her during her heats, and then came Samhain.”

“The drug?” Lamia asks, and Donald nods.

“We were out of our heads. That’s when she became pregnant, and she must have several large pups inside her to be showing so soon.”

“Have you consulted Gaius?” Eira asks.

“Of course. Gaius gives her herbs, but…”

Everyone is quiet for a long time.

Finally, Donald excuses himself, congratulating Bronwyn again before leaving.

Outside it’s snowing, tiny flakes blowing about in the fickle wind. The lunch bell clangs, and people begin to trudge from the barns and greenhouses to the main house, where a large room has been set up with food. Donald doesn’t see Percy—he doesn’t expect him to leave Freya—so he takes a seat beside Lance, who smiles at him, touching his shoulder in the lingering, omega way. Donald didn’t know Lance before the Father Wolf changed him from beta to omega, but Lance has confided to him that it’s been a real experience for him to go from someone who rarely touched to someone who wants to touch all the time. Lance is an incredibly handsome man, with dark Mediterranean looks and soft eyes that a man could easily get lost in. Simon has his arm wrapped possessively around his mate as they put food on their plates and discuss their morning.

Donald looks about the table. The Alpha and Vixen sit at its head, Merlin’s heat placing him nearly in Arthur’s lap and making the Alpha a bit growlier than usual. Merlin becomes quite submissive at times like these, frequently baring his neck to his alpha, calming the blond leader without words. There is something about their union that always brings a spot of softness to Donald’s core, and he blinks rapidly over his plate for a moment, guilt at his duplicity washing over him once again.

There is another table set up for the children, and some of the young adults help out there. Donald finds himself, for the first time in his life, longing for his own pups. He is very fond of Percy. He knows he could love him if he weren’t holding back. The fact that Declan questions him about the pack weighs heavy on his mind and, not for the first time, he considers telling Percy about it.

If he does, and Percy tells Arthur, what will happen? Will Donald’s family be in danger? Worry twists Donald’s gut. He wishes he could see his sister and know how Declan is treating her. He wonders if it might be possible that Arthur would grant him the opportunity to visit his family. He glances over at the Alpha where he sits laughing at something Leon has said. Donald really wants to make sure his family is all right, and he knows that Merlin, Nim, and the others want news of their friends. He decides to ask the Alpha after lunch.

He finds Arthur at home with Merlin in full heat, sweetly scented pheromones heavy in the air. Donald speaks to Arthur through the cracked door.

“I know you’ve forbidden us from going to the Freemont Ranch, but Alpha…my family. I worry about my elderly parents and my sisters. One of them has mated with Declan, and I haven’t seen her since.”

A low moan accompanied by a curse greets Donald’s ears from the other side of the door.

“And if Declan decides to hold you there just to lure me?” Arthur asks.

“I don’t think he would do that,” Donald replies. “After all, I am a gift to your pack…one you didn’t ask for. He gave me to you to fulfill his word. He has no interest in me. I could make sure that Ewan, Phineas, and anyone else you’d like to know about are all right.”

Donald hears Merlin whispering something to Arthur before being cut off by a grunt followed by a gasp of pleasure.

“Arthur, Arthur, Arth—uuuurrr….” Merlin sighs, and Donald feels the blood suffusing his face.

Arthur’s next words are muffled, perhaps by flesh, and then he replies, “I cannot let you go alone, Donald.”

“Perhaps…Agravaine?” Donald suggests. “He has told us that the pack leader tolerates his presence.”

“Enter,” Arthur barks after a moment, and Donald pushes the door open to find Arthur lying over Merlin, firmly knotted inside him, the Alpha’s rather spectacular arse in full view. Merlin’s face is buried in his arms, the dark hair on the nape of his neck curling with sweat.

“This is against my better judgment,” Arthur tells Donald. “I do not like to keep you from your family, so I will not stop you from going. But just know that if something goes wrong and you and Agravaine are kept there, we will not come for you. In other words, you are on your own without my sanction. I will inform Agravaine the same, and he may not wish to go with you. In that case, you will either have to go by yourself or Percy may choose to accompany you as your alpha. I wash my hands of this matter as I have of that pack.  Do you understand?”

“I do, Alpha,” Donald nods.

“Then go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies that this is always written so quickly and isn't very polished. I do try to go back to earlier chapters and fix it up some.


	33. Turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A visit, a meeting, a confession.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's at the grocery store? I'm picturing you with a can of baby formula in one hand and mobile in the other.

 

 

It seems to Donald that Agravaine is a little too eager to go with him, especially given Arthur’s warning. They set out the following day, which is clear and sunny, shifting into wolves and running the whole way, their clothing bundled around their necks.

Donald is relieved to find his parents and youngest sister well, still living in their modest house at the far end of the ranch. His father is too old to do the heavy work on the ranch that he used to do, but Declan sees that he’s taken care of. Donald is sure that should he displease the Alpha in any way, both his parents would be out on their ears. His family is under the impression that Bridey is doing well as Declan’s mate, but Donald needs to see it for himself. After a nice, if meager, lunch with his parents and sister, he sets off for the Alpha’s house.

He’s relieved that Declan isn’t there at the moment, and it’s Phineas who greets him at the door.

“Declan has taken Agravaine over to Brionna’s,” Phineas explains. “Bridey is at the garden house. She’ll be back soon. How are you, Donald? How is everyone in your new pack?”

“Things are going well,” Donald tells Phineas. “They’re worried about you, Ewan, and Erynn.” His eyes move to Mithian, who is cleaning the floors. She wears a simple tunic and her hair is pulled back from her face. “When I heard that Declan took Bridey as a second mate, I had to come. How is she?”

“Well enough,” Phineas replies quietly. He takes Donald by the arm and leads him into the nursery. “I want to show off my son,” he says loudly, but then closes the door and turns on some music. Morpheus plays quietly in his playpen, a handsome baby that has just learned to shift. Donald notices he has Phineas’ beautiful skin tone before turning his attention back to what the omega is saying.

“I don’t trust Mithian,” Phineas whispers. “She’ll do anything to get into Declan’s good favor. You know why Bridey was chosen, don’t you?”

“I assume to keep me in line,” Donald replies. “He’s always asking me for information on where Merlin is. He’s spying on him, I think.”

Phineas winces. “Sometimes I wish it would all just come to a head and Arthur would kill him.”

Donald glances at the child in the play pen. “How can you say that?”

“You wouldn’t ask if you were mated to the man,” Phineas replies.

Donald grips Phineas by the shoulders. “Is he hurting Bridey?”

“So far he’s been the perfect mate to her,” Phineas replies with a sour face. “It’s sickening to watch.” Suddenly he reaches out and flings the door open, and Mithian topples at their feet.

“Listening at the keyhole?” Phineas asks.

The front door opens just then, and Bridey steps in, a basket of vegetables on her arm. “Donald!” she cries, a smile breaking over her pretty face. She races over to hug him fiercely. “I’ve missed you so much! Da said you were here to see us.” She kisses his cheek.

“I just wanted to make sure you were all right. How’s mated life treating you?”

“Really well!” Bridey replies. “I was a bit surprised to be chosen by the Alpha of the pack, but so far it’s been a pleasant experience. Phineas is a real joy, and so is Morpheus. Declan’s been so nice to me! He brings me flowers every day.”

“That’s wonderful,” Donald smiles.

“What about you? How’s Percy? And Freya?”

“They’re doing fine. Freya’s with pups. She’s a bit…frail, I’m afraid.”

“Has Gwaine taken another mate?” Phineas asks him suddenly.

“Gwaine? No, he’s got the two. I don’t think he’ll be taking another,” Donald answers. They sit down to some tea and wait for Agravaine to come back. When he does, he is in good spirits, although a bit out of breath. Donald wonders if they’ve been for a run. Declan kisses Bridey’s cheek and greets Donald, asking him to step into the study with him a moment before he leaves.

“Your sister is a wonderful mate,” Declan tells him after he closes the door.

“She’s a wonderful person,” Donald agrees.

Declan narrows his eyes. “I’m sure you spoke with her and she had no complaints about mated life. She won’t, either, so long as you continue to hold up your end of the bargain. I’ve been gentle as a lamb with her, saving my more voracious appetite for Phineas and the slut. Bridey isn’t even aware of it. She’s very innocent, that one. A rather sound sleeper.” He sits down in the large, leather chair behind his desk, propping one long leg up on the edge. “It’s actually rather fun to see what she’ll sleep through…”

Donald feels his muscles tensing. “What do you want from me now?”

“I want you to find a way to get Merlin alone at that spring where he bathes outside the ranch. Do it, or you won’t like what happens.”

~~~

“Arthur,” Merlin says sleepily, “where are you going?”

“Shh…go back to sleep.”

Merlin sits up in bed, rubbing his eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he replies. “You know that isn’t going to work!”

He swings his legs over the bed and rushes after his mate, only to find him inches away in the darkness, and they bump heads.

“Ouch! Merlin!” Arthur grabs hold of Merlin’s shoulders, keeping him still.

“Where are you going, Arthur? I swear, I’ll follow you…”

“Okay, okay…” Arthur sighs. “I have to meet someone.”

Merlin takes a breath. “A…who?” His tone is decidedly jealous, and Arthur barks out a laugh.

“Good gods, Merlin! Do you think I’m admitting to meeting a lover?”

“So you wouldn’t admit it?”

Arthur huffs in the darkness before grabbing Merlin up in a searing kiss that weakens Merlin’s ability to stand on his own.

Arthur whispers in Merlin’s ear. “I am going to meet someone who is to give me some information. If you’re coming, hurry and slip on some clothes.”

Merlin dresses in the darkness, tingling excitement running up his spine. Finally, they would find out what Arthur’s mole knows.

Making their way out into the frosty night, the two men keep to the shadows, skirting the boundaries of the ranch until they’re out on the road, the beta guards immediately recognizing them by scent and letting them through. Arthur isn’t exactly forbidden to leave his own ranch, but he doesn’t want it discussed. He warns the guards of this, and they nod.

A little ways down the dark road, Arthur looks around, sniffing the air. He finds a tree, sniffs closer at it. Merlin sniffs behind him, recognizing the urine marking.

“Ewan,” he breathes. “Ewan’s your mole?”

Arthur puts a finger to his lips. They walk farther until deep within the woods, and find another marking, and then Ewan steps out from behind his cover.

“How did you do it?” Merlin asks, incredulous. “How did you get away from her long enough?”

“There are things I’ve learned about her that make it possible,” Ewan replies. “And it helps that the guards are my friends. But I can’t be gone long. I have someone covering for me at home just in case.” He looks at Arthur. “Agravaine, Declan, and Brionna left our house today when Donald visited. I followed them. Brionna has a den where she goes sometimes…it’s a kind of dungeon. It seems that Agraviane likes to be tied up.”

Arthur wrinkles his nose. “You’re kidding.”

Ewan shakes his head. “I’m not. I watched them--Declan and Brionna played the dominants, Agravaine the submissive.”

“And that’s all it was?” Merlin asks. “Kinky games?”

“Yes,” Ewan replies. “Whips, chains, leather. But I think this is leading to compliance on Agravaine’s part. There isn’t much he wouldn’t do for them, Arthur.” Ewan’s eyes are very serious as they meet the Alpha’s.

“You’d better get back, Ewan,” Arthur tells him. “Your safety is paramount.”

Merlin gives Ewan a tight hug before the boy slips away.

“It seems that Agravaine’s version of ‘chess’ is somewhat different than ours,” Arthur muses after a moment.

“Gods…ew,” Merlin says. “I didn’t expect that.”

“This just means that when Declan requires a favor, Agravaine will jump to do his bidding.” Arthur looks at Merlin. “I’m worried, Merlin. He’s going to go after you. That look he gave you on Samhain…” Arthur shakes his head, pulling Merlin close and nuzzling his neck. “I won’t let him hurt you. I’ll kill him first.”

~~~  
Gaius gave Freya a sleeping drought. She hasn’t been able to rest well lately, and Percy knows he’s probably made things worse by getting into the bed with her.

Donald has been visiting his family all day, and Percy’s restless, pacing the floor. He’s lonely and frightened, knowing that things aren’t going to end well. It’s his fault that Freya’s slowly dying, his seed eating her from the inside out. Percy’s always been too large—towering over everyone else. His girth killed his own mother at birth. And Freya had been afraid of him. He should have stayed away from her.

Donald should have been back hours ago—Percy suspects that he’s been waiting until he’s sure Percy’s asleep. When the door opens, and Donald appears, Percy can immediately tell something is wrong.

“Donald?” he asks.

The light blue eyes meet his.

“Percy,” Donald tries a smile, but it’s a poor one. Percy didn’t think his mate’s pale skin could get any paler. He strides over to him and takes his cold hands in his.

“What’s the matter? Your family? Are they all right?” To Percy’s horror, tears spill down Donald’s fair cheeks and his lips quiver faintly.

“Stop being so nice to me, please!” Donald begs. “I don’t deserve it!”

“What do you mean?” Percy asks. He kisses the corners of Donald’s mouth. “Of course you deserve it, luv. Of course you do.”

Donald clings to him then, burying his face in Percy’s shoulder and sobbing. Percy pets him. “Please tell me what’s wrong.”

“I can’t. Just hold me, please, please…”

Percy tightens his grip, feeling Donald trembling all over. He kisses the carrot-colored hair, trying to comfort. “It can’t be that bad, can it? Is it your parents? Your sisters? Is someone sick?”

“They’re okay for now,” Donald croaks out. “But only…if I behave.”

A cold fear grips Percy’s gut. He pulls Donald away from his chest and looks down into his tear-streaked face. “Behave?”

Donald nods miserably, unwilling to meet Percy's gaze. “He’s got me by the balls. Declan. He’ll kill my whole family if I don’t do as he says.”

Percy puts his large hands around Donald’s face and forces him to look him in the eyes. “What does he want you to do?”

“He wants Merlin,” Donald’s tears spill anew. “He wants him alone and unguarded. He wants him, and then he wants the pack. He’s obsessed.”

“He has to be stopped,” Percy whispers fervently, before lowering his lips to kiss Donald softly, feeling the man’s heartbeat thumping against his chest like a trapped rabbit.

“If he finds out I told…he’ll kill my family. He’ll rape my sister!” Donald whimpers into Percy’s lips.

“Do you think I’ll allow that to happen?” Percy asks him before plunging his tongue inside Donald’s warm mouth, Donald clings to him like a lifeline a moment before tearing at Percy’s clothes with trembling fingers, trying to get them off.

Percy helps him, stepping out of his loose trousers before ridding Donald of his. Donald drips with his need, and it fires Percy’s loins. He backs Donald to the wall, pinning him there with his body before spearing into him, making him cry out with pleasure, legs surrounding Percy’s waist.

Percy pounds into Donald mercilessly, his own pain, anger, and worry draining from him with every thrust. Donald whimpers and sighs, shuddering as Percy knots and their mouths meet for a deliciously long kiss.

When Percy feels his knot break and his climax build and crest, he whispers words of love into Donald’s ear, and promises him again that everything will be all right.

Somehow, Percy will make it all right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just looked through this again...a couple of things sounded truly awful...especially Donald's "carroty hair"...LOL! I pictured a head of carrots!


	34. Agravaine's Forced Compliance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, short. But the plot moves ahead! In a rather odd way.  
> Warning: Chapter includes weird torture device and brief bondage.

 

_Brionna ties Agravaine’s hands behind his back and bends him, blindfolded, over her soft thighs. He feels the stroke of her soft palm before the sharp slap, and he grunts in pleasure._

_“You’ve been a naughty, naughty, boy,” he hears Brionna say, and then, “Declan will have to punish you.” And then a shiver of arousal shoots up his spine, making him hard._

Agravaine wakes up with a start to find he isn’t dreaming—his hands really are tied—but to his bedpost. But he isn’t blindfolded, and it isn’t Declan who now holds his erect cock in his hand; it’s Lance. And there’s a sharp blade against it.

“Lance!” Agravaine cries out hoarsely. “Have you gone mad?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Lance replies. He looks behind Agravaine. “Simon? Do you think I’ve gone mad?”

“No. Not in the least, my love.” Simon walks around so Agravaine can see him. “We’ve heard tell that you enjoy being tied up, Agravaine. And that you would like nothing more than to play our Alpha for a fool, putting our entire pack in danger.”

Agravaine feels the sweat breaking out all over his skin. The blade cuts into the sensitive flesh at the base of his cock and he cries out, fear gripping him. “Stop! It isn’t true!”

Lance leans down to look into Agravaine’s face, his brown eyes hard. “Don’t lie to me, old man. I don’t appreciate what you’re doing, and you’ll be lucky to get through the next hour with both your balls. Do you hear me? From now on, you’re on our side, got it?”

Agravaine nods, heart speeding up furiously until he’s afraid it might stop altogether. Much like the day before when Brionna had him trussed up like a lamb at slaughter and Declan put the feather to his balls…

“Good,” Simon tells him, coming closer. He grasps one of Agravaine’s ankles and pulls it up, tying it to the same bedpost that holds his wrist. He does the same to the other ankle. “You nasty old coot—look how hard you’ve gotten!” He smacks Agravaine on the cheek and reaches into his pocket. “Don’t get too excited; we aren’t going to fuck you.” He takes out a small, sharp object. “See this?” He holds it up, and Agravaine blinks at it in the pale light from the moon coming through the window.

Simon leans down and swiftly inserts it into Agravaine’s arse, feeling around. There’s a sharp bite, and Agravaine cries out, followed by several cruel twists. Agravaine realizes that Simon is screwing whatever the thing is into his prostate. The older man winces, whimpering.

“What the hell?”

“Oh, you’ll see,” Simon flashes him a smile. “Show him, Lance.”

Lance takes the blade away from Agravaine’s balls and pulls a small remote control from his pocket. Giving Agravaine a smirk, he presses a button. An alarming buzz of electricity jolts through Agravaine’s prostate, sending him arching off the bed with a scream, fingers gripping the ropes tethering his wrists to the bedposts.

Lance and Simon look at one another, impressed. “It works!” Simon smiles, and Lance nods enthusiastically.

“We weren’t sure if it would,” Lance grins at Agravaine.

“You sadists!” Agravaine’s having trouble catching his breath. His erection has completely withered. “Untie me!”

“Gladly,” says Simon, releasing the ties. “And you can try to get the device out, but you won’t be able to. It will have to be surgically removed, if that’s even possible. You’re probably stuck with it for life.”

“What?” Agravaine yells. “Why are you doing this?”

“Easy. You are going to help us, and we don’t trust you,” Lance answers. “You are going to give Declan some false information, and if you don’t…” Lance pushes the button and Agravaine shoots off the bed, dancing about the room in agony.

“What kind of information?” Agravaine finally asks when he can breathe again, tears smarting in his eyes. The aftershocks are almost more excruciating than the moments of pain themselves. He would do anything not to feel that awful spark behind his nuts again. He thinks for a moment he will vomit and closes his eyes to fight it off.

“We want you to tell Declan that Arthur is ill. That’s really all you have to do---plant the seed that he is ill. If you’re lucky and play your cards right, Aggy, you may have Brionna as your playmate for good in future.”

They turn to leave. Lance looks over his shoulder. “Remember…not a word to anyone, and if you betray us…” he holds up the control and gives him a zap. Agravaine falls to the floor, writhing and uselessly gripping his arse.

Simon and Lance meet Percy around the corner. “It’s done,” Simon tells the big man. “It worked perfectly! Agravaine danced about like a puppet. I was afraid for a moment he was going to like it, the dirty bastard.”

Percy leans against the wall, thinking. “I wish there were some way to keep Donald out of this, but I don’t think there is. He’s going to have to tell Declan that Merlin will be bathing alone. Arthur isn’t happy about any of this. He’d rather go up against Declan in a clean, fair fight, but Gwaine and I have convinced him there’s too much at risk. I don’t trust Declan not to cheat, anyway.”

“He doesn’t know about this part…” Lance tilts his head toward Agravaine’s house.

“What Arthur doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Percy says firmly. “I’ll take the blame if it comes down to it.”

“All those people in that pack counting on this,” Lance shakes his head, “not to mention ours. If Arthur were to somehow lose…”

They all look at one another.

“He won’t, because we will all fight if we have to. The two packs must become one and live in peace, and for that, Declan must die.” Percy gives a decisive nod, and Simon agrees.

“Is Merlin willing?” Lance asks.

“More than,” Percy replies. “He wants it over with.”

“When?” Simon asks.

“Arthur insists Merlin’s heat must be well and over. Another week at least,” Percy replies. The three men discuss things a bit further before separating.


	35. Declan Has Other Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Declan decides he's waited long enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I think how much better this whole thing would be if it weren't a wip, and I took my time with it. Oh well. I really enjoy your comments. Sorry this is a bit short. I had a lot of interruptions last night and hardly any time this morning.  
> Warnings--This chapter contains Non-con. Forced anal sex. Threats. Declan the disgusting.

Merlin keeps Arthur inside with him for the final week of his heat, so the rumor that the pack leader is ill isn’t difficult to maintain. When Agravaine accompanies Donald on another visit to the Freemont pack, he does as he was told and mentions to Declan that Arthur is ill with a fever, thus making the already boastful clan leader doubly confident.

All involved realize that Arthur never would have gone along with the means by which Simon, Lance, and Percy designed to get Agravaine under their thumb once and for all; however, the three agreed in their refusal to let Agravaine get away with his hidden alliance with the other pack leader, particularly after Ewan revealed to Donald that he overheard Declan promise Agravaine a place as his second when his new pack is formed.

On Donald’s next visit to his parents, he describes Arthur to Declan as “ravaged with the wolf fever and weak as a babe,” and witnesses the glee in Declan’s eyes over it. Donald tells Declan that in another week, Merlin should be out of heat and bathing in the spring again, and he’s sure Arthur won’t be well enough to accompany him.

~

Declan has given a lot of thought to the situation in the two days since that visit.

The fact that Merlin is still in heat is a tantalizing crumb dangling before him. Merlin, the beautiful omega who has given Arthur six pups in one go…Declan longs to impregnate him. Declan highly suspects that Arthur isn’t doing everything he can to get the omega pregnant again, probably thinking it’s too soon after the first litter and giving Merlin a respite before they have another. There are ways to avoid it-- If an alpha pulls out quickly after the knot breaks, there is less chance of impregnation, for instance, since the pulsing movements of the long alpha cock stimulates the ovulation glands in a male omega.

This is just the sort of pussy thinking that makes Arthur Pendragon unworthy of being a pack leader, in Declan’s opinion, particularly of such an old and respected pack. Declan’s done some research on the Pendragon pack, and more than ever he wants to take hold of it. Killing Arthur Pendragon would give Declan dominance and domain over Merlin, his pups, and the entire Pendragon/Hobart pack. Declan would be the most powerful pack leader on the continent.

He stretches, raising his hands to the ceiling, the morning sun pouring in the window. Phineas has just taken their son to the kitchen to eat his breakfast, and Declan is half-hard thinking about Merlin. He has got to get to the omega and get to him now, and there’s only one way to convince Donald of helping him. Declan expects Donald at his door anytime now with an update. It would be wonderful news to hear that Pendragon has succumbed to his fever and died in his bed—then Declan wouldn’t have to go through with his elaborate plans at all, and risk getting a few cuts and bruises.

“Slut!” he calls. Mithian appears from where her mat is placed under his bed.

“Go get Bridey. You may then work somewhere on the ranch today. I don’t want to see your face until tomorrow. Find somewhere else to sleep. And tell Phineas to take Morpheus out for some air for a few hours.” He turns away from her.

When Bridey enters their bedroom with a smile a few moments later, Declan sits up in the bed, propping himself on pillows and letting the covers slide low to reveal his impressive genitals. She blushes furiously.

Bridey is a comely girl, although very, very fair. Petite, but curvaceous with high, sweet breasts.

“We have spent far too little time together, my pet,” he tells her, with a feral grin that makes her smile a bit unsure and her blue eyes cloud over. He pats the bed beside him, and she comes to sit there.

He leans in and kisses her—not the chaste kisses she’s accustomed to from him, but more of a raping of the mouth that gets her heartbeat thumping against his questing hands and sounds of fear coming from her mouth that make him harder.

“Obey your alpha,” he whispers, ripping her tunic from her and forcing her to roll over. “I am going to introduce you to the joys of anal love.”

Her cries as he enters her remind him of a bleating sheep, which is a surprisingly arousing thought that Declan tucks in the back of his mind for further exploration later.

By the time Donald arrives, Declan is rutting her bottom for the fourth time in a row, knee raised almost casually on the bed as he kneels over her, holding her twisted arm behind her back as he pumps his long length back and forth like a saw. Bridey swooned long ago, her blue eyes rolled up in her head and her pink mouth hanging wide open, drool falling on the sheet and forming a wet spot.

Donald stops, arrested, in the doorway.

“You promised!” he whispers, aghast, a mixture of anger and horror washing over his face. He clenches his fists at his sides.

“I have my needs,” Declan tells him, meeting his eyes. “And if you don’t find some way to get Merlin alone tonight, in the omega den, I will do much worse than this—and I’ll take your younger sister, too. And your mother. In fact, your father isn’t so bad-looking, either.”

“He’s eighty-years-old!” Donald cries, but Declan only shrugs his indifference.

“A hole is a hole,” he shudders as he knots, and Donald’s eyes widen as he watches the Alpha cram the large bulge inside Bridey’s stretched opening, glad that the girl is only semi-conscious.

“You’re a terrible man,” Donald growls.

“You’ll think terrible after I’m through with them and burn them alive right in front of you,” Declan tells him. “Your beloved Percy and Freya will be next. Now tonight better go according to my plans. I don’t care how you do it, but make sure Merlin sleeps alone in the omega den. Tell him he needs to get away from his Alpha’s fever. Drug him if you have to, but I prefer him lucid.” Declan smiles.

“By tomorrow, that clan will be mine. I’ll mate Merlin, go kill Arthur in his fevered sleep, and claim the whole lot of them. And I’ll have Trevor and a few trusted others here with your Bridey, so you’d better not make a false move, Donald.” He gives an extra thrust, and Bridey cries out, her eyes suddenly focusing.

Donald steps out of sight, so as not to add to his sister’s shame.

“Do not cross me!” Declan calls to him, and Bridey’s sobs ring in Donald’s ears as he flees.


	36. Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donald doesn't know what to do.  
> Lance and Simon's intimacy is interrupted by strange sounds in the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The characters took this over, changing what I intended to write. This often happens. Really short, but I wanted to post something before bed. I'll post again in the morning.

 

All the rest of the day and that evening, Donald tries to think of a way out of delivering Merlin up to Declan, but he’s afraid. He already knows Declan long ago secured a way into the ranch through Agravaine and that he’ll be waiting in the omega den that night. Perhaps Donald can take Merlin to him and then go back for Arthur. Declan won’t expect Arthur to come, because he thinks he’s sick. If Donald tries to raise any alarms beforehand, his family’s in danger, but once Declan’s occupied, it might work. It’s all Donald can think to do, so it will have to be enough.

He lays low until darkness falls and most of the ranch is in bed, then goes tapping on Merlin’s and Arthur’s bedroom window, whispering that Merlin’s help is needed in the omega den because Freya is restless and Donald has taken her there.

Merlin, of course, comes immediately, leaving a sleeping Arthur in their bed.

“Poor Freya,” he says to Donald as they cross the courtyard. It’s a cloudy, windy night, and Donald feels appropriately gloomy, trepidation running up and down his spine in waves. Merlin has his hands tucked under his armpits in spite of the fact that he wears a nightshirt; he’s always a bit colder-natured than the other wolves, even when he’s in heat. Donald can detect the other omega’s sweet scent drifting off him. He thinks of how much Arthur loves his mate’s scent and how just moments earlier the Alpha had his nose buried in Merlin’s neck, sleeping peacefully.

Donald stops mid-step.

“What’s wrong?” Merlin asks Donald, turning to face him.

“Oh, gods…” Donald moans. “I can’t do this.”

Merlin’s eyes widen, and he looks around. “Donald, what is it?”

Donald gazes at Merlin, legs beginning to tremble under him. “I’m so sorry, Merlin,” he whispers. “He’s got my family…he changed everything--the entire plan. He has Bridey…he hurt her…” They’re about ten yards from the omega den, and Donald’s sure he can see Declan’s yellow eyes glinting in the window. Merlin reaches out and grasps Donald’s arm.

“What _the fuck_ are you _saying_?” He starts pushing Donald backward, walking fast in the other direction, and Donald sees Declan come out of the omega den, racing toward them, and he isn’t alone, of course he isn’t. Two of his alphas are with him. Merlin lets out an aborted howl before he’s tackled to the ground, and Donald doesn’t feel a thing as thick blackness settles over him.

~~~

Lance has grown accustomed to the feel of Simon’s large cock slipping in and out of his body, driving him to new heights of pleasure; so much so that he now can’t imagine life without it. He moans deep in his throat, closing his eyes and reaching back with his hand to grasp Simon’s hip, fingers gripping at the hollow there. He lifts his own leg and drapes it back over Simon’s, moving his head to bare his neck to Simon’s exploring lips. Lance moans again, enthralled.

“Beautiful…you are so beautiful…” Simon whispers, pushing in harder, making Lance squirm, eyes fluttering as he focuses them on the clouds racing across the sky outside the window. They lie on their sides in their bed, the mattress creaking as Simon continues to deliciously fuck Lance. Lance gasps as Simon pushes his knot inside him and it expands, smashing Lance’s sensitive prostate, overloading him with pleasure and making him cry out and come.

The moment his cry ends, an aborted howl sounds somewhere outside, and Simon leans forward, causing Lance to come again with a jerk.

“I wonder what that’s about,” Simon murmurs.

Lance tries to regain his breath as Simon rises on an elbow, peering out the window as best he can from that position.

“Gods, Simon, quit moving!” Lance begs, another spurt of cum erupting from his cock. He clutches at the side of the bed and moans.

A heart-stopping growl fills the night and both men freeze for a long moment before Simon begins pumping mercilessly inside Lance.

"Got to break the knot...got to break the knot..."

Lance holds on and then jerks when at the pressure of the break. Gritting his teeth, Simon rides out his orgasm and then withdraws, getting up from the bed on shaky legs.

“I need to get out there.” Simon grabs his slacks and almost falls over in his haste to get them on. Lance, addled from the onslaught, looks around confusedly for his own trousers, but Simon’s already out the door before he can get one leg into them.

~~~

A tug on Arthur’s bond awakens him out of a deep sleep. He rolls over to find Merlin gone from their bed. He sits up, disoriented.

“Merlin?” he calls into the darkness.

Again, the pull on the bond.

Arthur’s heart begins to beat faster in his chest. Something is very, very wrong. He gets up and moves toward the door and out into the darkened hallway, tripping on a toy left there. He opens the door to the nursery. All the children are sleeping comfortably in their beds, and Merlin is not there. Arthur runs through the house and outside, where the pull is stronger, sniffing the air. Catching a whiff of Merlin’s scent, Arthur follows it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure you read those last few sentences at the end about Arthur waking up, as they were left off for about ten minutes after the first post.


	37. The Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur must fight Declan for Merlin, his children, his pack, and the Freemont pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think you guys are going to love me any better for where I leave you here. <3
> 
> Fight scenes aren't exactly my forte.
> 
> I re-read last night's and found lots of errors, including Merlin sweating when he's cold...was supposed to read "sweet"...duh. Sorry for all that. Corrected them this morning.

The pull that Arthur feels is unlike anything he’s ever felt before. When he sees the figures in the courtyard, he lets out a growl from deep in his belly that halts their actions long enough for him to get a look at who they are, and for Merlin to scramble up from the ground.

Profound relief mingled with horror and rage rips through Arthur’s system when he puts together the fact that Declan and two of his alphas have pinned Arthur’s precious omega to the ground. Merlin has taken two steps toward Arthur when one of the alphas grabs him by the arm to stop him, and a rage pure and strong takes over Arthur’s body, causing him to roar like a lion and launch himself forward, shifting as he does so into his white wolf form, his long, sharp canines opening and latching down on the back of the other alpha’s neck.

Arthur hears bones break and sees the blood spurt in three directions. Arthur shakes the man like a rag doll, growling low in his throat, primal lust for blood taking over. Merlin has rolled to the side and shifted himself, teeth bared, pure white against his black muzzle.

For a moment Arthur thinks he sees real fear in Declan’s eyes before it changes to hatred and resolution and Declan shifts to his silver wolf form, larger than Arthur’s, teeth bared and dripping saliva. The other alpha, now shifted and growling, makes a lunge for Arthur’s unguarded tail, but Merlin seizes his hind leg, twisting it in his jaws, turning the attacking alpha’s growl into a yelp of pain.

Declan lunges at the same time, going for Arthur’s throat, but Arthur rolls quickly, having the advantage of lesser weight, and lands in a crouch, growling.

More growling to Arthur’s right worries him for a brief moment until he recognizes it as Simon’s, and it’s only a few moments more until he’s surrounded by his alphas, including Gwaine, Percy, Cenred, and Leon. But this is Arthur’s fight alone, and they can only stand back and watch as the two Alphas circle one another, eyes narrowed, snarling and growling their mutual intention to kill one another.

Declan makes a series of lunges that Arthur dodges, purposefully tiring the larger wolf, waiting for the opportunity to sink his teeth into a vulnerable spot. Time seems to pass slowly, with the crowd around them growing larger as word of the fight spreads throughout the ranch, even traveling to Freemont ranch. Arthur is only marginally aware of all the people, Merlin glowing like a beacon among them, their bond intact and the one thing keeping him going; it pumps confidence and love into Arthur’s body like mother’s milk gives sustenance to a baby, fortifying Arthur for the fight. Arthur knows he has literally hundreds depending on him, but his omega is foremost in his mind, always the most important thing to him.

Even though Arthur doesn’t take his eyes off Declan for a moment, he knows that Merlin has Mordred’s arms wrapped around him, and that Will is guarding his friend with a vengeance. Arthur senses Merlin’s fear, as well as his pride in his Alpha. He also senses the seeds of their love he planted earlier that evening in their bed, the new babies to be born to them. Arthur won’t let Merlin down.

Knowing that Declan touched Merlin with his dirty paws—dared to taint Arthur’s omega in any way and even thought of defiling him and the lives that Arthur planted within him—enrages Arthur so that he literally sees red. He doesn’t realize that the angry gold of his eyes is now burning crimson for all to see. He roars with anger, and Declan takes an uncertain step backward. Arthur uses it to his advantage and lunges forward, slashing at the tendon in Declan’s right foreleg with his sharp claws as he aims for the other Alpha’s neck with open jaws.

Declan twists so that Arthur only gets a mouthful of stored winter fat and fur, but Declan bleeds copiously. Snarling and biting, they roll in the dirt and snow. Arthur feels pain shoot up one of his back legs but ignores it. He’s fighting for his life and his omega’s life…his children’s lives and the lives of his pack and Declan’s pack. He will not allow Declan to take Merlin. The thought of it sickens Arthur. If Arthur dies, he will take Declan with him.

Using his back claws, Arthur tries to rip into Declan’s sensitive belly, hoping to spill his guts. Again and again, he attempts it, only to be thwarted by the larger wolf, until Arthur's limbs grow weary with effort. And then, somehow, Declan gains the upper hand. He gets his big body on top of Arthur’s, pinning him down. Arthur struggles, feeling Declan’s jaws enclose about his neck. He waits for the death crunch, heart pounding in his chest, Merlin’s panic rushing at him through their bond.

What Declan is waiting for, Arthur doesn’t know, until he feels it.

And, of course, the bastard would do this. Declan would want to show the ultimate display of dominance over him in front of Arthur’s pack and omega before he kills Arthur.

He feels the nudge of the other Alpha’s cock at his anus, seeking entrance.

 

 


	38. The Victor Gains the Spoils

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...all the threats and gnashing of teeth. You all can be a scary bunch.
> 
> This chapter contains a slight bit of non con. *hides behind something strong*  
> Some blood, too.  
> Oh, and character death. Secondary, of course.

 

Arthur goes limp beneath Declan, hanging his head low, and he feels the despondency and stirrings of loss from Merlin like a knife to his heart. Arthur hardens his resolve, knowing this is the only way out, forcing himself to loosen his muscles and appear defeated. He feels Declan’s hot breath puffing from his snout onto Arthur’s neck, canines still dangerously embedded in the muscles there. Arthur must wait for a moment of weakness; Declan’s pride and vanity will be his undoing—his insistence on showing Arthur up in front of the others the final nail in his coffin.

Arthur closes his eyes, willing the picture of those watching out of his mind as he feels Declan fully mount him, large cock sliding past the outer rim of Arthur’s still-tense anus in a slow, irritating burn. It doesn’t matter—it isn’t important—it doesn’t make Arthur less of a wolf, of a man, of an Alpha, he tells himself as he stares at the ground inches away from his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, he thinks of Merlin, loosens his muscles, makes himself arch and push back into the intrusion, the fact that he and his attacker are in their wolf forms making the entire thing more bearable somehow as he forces himself to physically invite the next plunge of cock. It’s easier to take, and Arthur’s rewarded by a slight whimper of pleasure from his captor along with a slackening of the jaws about his neck. It’s all Arthur needs in order to act, moving his bowed head in a fast, smooth arc of motion, putting all his weight behind it, slamming his skull into Declan’s snout and knocking him backward and away from Arthur. Arthur then twists, latching onto Declan’s still bared neck with sharp teeth, biting down on it hard enough to pierce the jugular at first bite, blood spurting and splashing the back of Arthur’s throat.

It’s over in a blink of an eye, almost faster than most can process, and Arthur shifts, getting to his feet over the dead wolf and letting out a primal howl of triumph that reverberates over the entire ranch and for miles around. It catapults Merlin to Arthur’s feet, neck bared in submission, along with Phineas and every omega in the Pendragon and Freemont pack.

Arthur wipes Declan’s blood from his mouth with the back of his arm. Gwaine comes to stand by his side, putting his hand on Arthur’s back, the rest of the alphas lining up behind him.

“Our packs hereby become one,” Arthur shouts for everyone to hear. “I claim them in the name of Pendragon.” He holds his hand out for Merlin to take, and Arthur pulls him up from the ground. “Merlin, my true mate, remains my only mate. Phineas was not Declan’s true mate, and I do not claim him, nor do I claim Morpheus, their only son. I give them to Gwaine, my second. Declan’s other mate, Bridey, will return to her parents’ home. There will be a meeting of our combined councils tonight at the rise of the moon.”

Arthur looks to Gwaine who tells him that Donald has not regained consciousness, and Percy has carried him back to their home.

Arthur turns and wearily leads Merlin away as the sun begins to rise over the horizon.

They find Collum at their front door, staring out, having been unwilling to leave the children alone.

“Thank the gods,” he cries when he sees Arthur, throwing himself at the Alpha’s feet. “I heard your howl, but I was still afraid.”

“Get up, Collum,” Arthur tells him wearily. “Please. If you could just keep the children occupied for a few hours so we can sleep.”

“Of course!” Collum tells him. “Merlin? Are you all right?”

Merlin nods, but he knows his face is pale. He hasn’t stopped trembling since the moment he realized that Donald was leading him into a trap. He still can’t believe it. Arthur’s hand clasped in his, he eagerly follows his Alpha into their bedroom, every fiber of his being concentrating on Arthur.

Arthur shuts the door and turns, eyes boring into Merlin’s, and Merlin shivers as though physically touched.

Instincts strong, Merlin again bares his neck to Arthur, and finally, Arthur moves forward, nuzzling and licking at it before sinking his teeth into the skin, making Merlin’s knees weak. Arthur catches him before he falls, pulling him in close, and Merlin clings to his Alpha, their bond strengthening with every suck of Arthur’s lips on their mating bite.

“I was so scared when I saw him with you,” Arthur whispers into Merlin’s skin, pushing him back against the wall with his body, his nose beginning to run over Merlin’s skin. “Did he touch you?”

“Only a little,” Merlin answers, and Arthur growls, sending shivers down Merlin’s spine.

Arthur begins sniffing Merlin all over his body, roughly removing what little remains of Merlin’s night shirt after shifting back and forth. Merlin gasps as Arthur’s tongue repeatedly sweeps over his skin, erasing the scent of Declan’s fingers. Arthur continues to growl low in his throat, his movements becoming a bit frenzied as he finds more and more of Declan’s scent on Merlin, although Declan did little more than manhandle the omega in the courtyard.

Arthur begins to rub up against Merlin, his cock leaking pre-cum that Arthur smears onto Merlin’s skin.

“I’m sorry, love, I’m sorry…I have to,” Arthur murmurs hoarsely, turning Merlin around and rubbing against his back.

“It’s all right,” Merlin tells him over and over again. “Do what you have to do. I’m yours, all yours.”

Arthur continues to lick and rub himself over every inch of Merlin’s body, cock becoming rigid until Arthur finally ejaculates all over him, and when that’s over, he’s still not through; cock in hand, Arthur pisses all over Merlin, hot urine saturating the omega’s skin and hair with Arthur’s unique scent until Arthur finally sinks to the floor, pulling Merlin down with him, kissing him hungrily.

“You’re mine,” Arthur tells his mate, sinking his cock inside of Merlin and beginning to push into the wet heat.

“Yes,” Merlin sighs, meeting every thrust with a counter-thrust.

“And I’m yours,” Arthur looks Merlin in the eye. Merlin nods, leaning in and biting Arthur’s mating mark until it bleeds, sucking on it while Arthur moans and writhes over him.

Arthur’s heavy knot slips past Merlin’s tingling rim, and a wave of pleasure bursts over him. Merlin moans, wrapping his legs tightly around Arthur’s waist as they tie, lying exhausted in one another’s arms.

Thirty minutes later they sit together in the large bathtub shampooing their hair and eating from a large fruit basket one of the former Freemont pack members brought to their house. Merlin watches Arthur’s eyes drooping and smiles at him indulgently.

“Here, let me help you rinse your hair so you can sleep,” Merlin tells his exhausted mate. “You’re going to drown any minute now.”

“M’not,” Arthur argues, sinking lower into the water.

Merlin pours a cup of it over Arthur’s head and Arthur sputters.

“Come on, Arthur,” Merlin coaxes. “You killed the big, bad wolf and now you need your rest.”

Arthur smiles cheekily. “Yes, after I rescued the damsel in distress.”

Merlin rolls his eyes. “I’m so _not_ a damsel.”

“A beautiful damsel.” Arthur pulls the plug and Merlin feels his eyes upon him as he steps out of the water. “And you’re carrying my pups.”

Merlin smiles, turning and giving Arthur a wink. “I am,” he agrees, grabbing a towel and drying off. “Come on. I’ll dry your back.”

Once he has Arthur in bed, his mate insists he crawl in, too. Merlin does, lying there in Arthur’s arms and listening to his breathing evening out. Merlin had never been so scared as he had been when he watched Arthur fight for his life with Declan earlier that morning.

And then Declan had raped Arthur. It had been horrifying. Merlin had simultaneously wanted to die and kill Declan himself. But Merlin should have known that his Arthur was stronger than that. He’d used it as a ploy to defeat Declan, and Merlin was ashamed that he’d thought for a moment that Arthur was giving up. After that, Merlin’s biggest wish had been to submit to his strong, clever Alpha. The moment Declan fell, Merlin’s instincts had commanded it; it had been all he could think about.

Now that Merlin had been claimed and marked as Arthur’s once again and he felt right and complete, Merlin just wanted Arthur to rest. And Merlin wanted to go see about Donald. He wanted to know if the young omega was all right, and Merlin wanted to speak with him and hear what Donald had to say before Merlin spoke to Arthur about him.

Because right now Donald is in a lot of trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arthur's actions were necessary as a sacrifice for Merlin and his pack. Werewolve's feelings on rape aren't as strong as humans, although they can be traumatized by it. I have a few plot reasons for doing what I did, of course. I hope no one is too upset by it.


	39. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin checks on Donald.  
> Phineas settles in with Gwaine.

Percy opens the door.

“Gods, you smell of the Alpha,” Percy steps back.

“Better than of my heat,” Merlin replies, walking into their small house. “And I’ve had a bath; you should have smelled me before.”

“No thanks,” Percy replies tiredly, closing the door behind Merlin. “You already make me want to lie down and roll over in submission. It’s not a good feeling for an alpha.”

Merlin smiles. “How’s Donald?”

“He’s still unconscious. I’m so worried. Merlin, what happened out there?”

Merlin frowns, taking a seat on the sofa and running a hand through his still-damp hair.

“Percy, Donald came to me and told me I was needed in the omega den because Freya was restless.”

“What?” Percy asks, astounded. “But…” his eyes open wide. “Do you mean…”

Merlin nods. “He stopped before we got there and admitted it. He said that Declan’s been threatening his family and had hurt Bridey. Then Declan and his two men attacked us. I guess Arthur felt it and woke up.”

Percy falls into a nearby chair like a felled tree. “Fuck. That stupid bastard, he should have told me.”

“I don’t hold it against him,” Merlin says. “I want to, but I know how terrifying Declan can be and how responsible Donald feels for his family. I know that odious man must have threatened Donald with some terrible things, and Donald probably couldn’t think straight. But Arthur won’t see it like that, Percy.”

Percy nods slowly. “His family’s in there with him,” he finally says. “Freya, too. Freya loves Donald.”

Merlin looks toward the closed door at the end of the corridor and then back at Percy. “You love him, too, don’t you?”

Percy only nods.

Merlin gets up and looks into the room. Donald looks even younger lying in the bed breathing softly, a dark bruise on his pale temple. Freya glances up from her perch beside him and smiles wanly at Merlin. She looks like a small, skeletal bird. Donald’s two sisters lean against the wall behind her, the younger girl no more than Freya’s age.

Donald’s parents are quite old and must have had their children late in life and one at a time. They sit hand in hand beside the bed, staring down at their son as though he hung the moon. When they spot Merlin, the father gets to his feet and comes over to him.

“Vixen,” he bows his head respectfully, and Merlin touches it. The old man gazes up at him with rheumy eyes. “I’m sorry for what my family brought upon you.”

“It isn’t your fault,” Merlin replies.

“I know what Donny did. I know how hard it was for him…he loves and respects you. I’m sorry. There’s nothing else to say.” He shakes his head woefully and goes back to sit by his wife who now cries softly into the bed covers.

Merlin leaves the room, feeling sick. He leaves Percy staring out the window at nothing and goes back into his own home to the chaos of Collum feeding the children breakfast. Merlin immediately gets a face-full of Artie’s oatmeal.

One look at Merlin’s expression and Collum shoos him out of the room. Merlin washes up in the bathroom before walking into the bedroom to stare for a moment at the smooth expanse of Arthur’s bare back before climbing into bed behind him and burying his nose between the familiar, broad shoulder blades.

Arthur rolls over and gathers Merlin into his arms, kissing him thoroughly before they settle down to sleep. Merlin knows Arthur is aware he’s been out and that Arthur will ask him about it later, but now isn’t the time. He burrows his face in Arthur’s chest and drifts off.

~~~

Phineas puts Morpheus to bed with Pip and Mary and looks about uncertainly. He can’t believe that he isn’t going back to his house with Declan and Bridey; that he’s free of Declan; that Declan won’t be fucking him tonight and again in the morning and that Phineas won’t have to watch him fuck Mithian and Bridey; and that Phineas isn’t going to be slapped or kicked again anytime soon.

He jumps when a hand clamps down on his shoulder, automatically shielding his face.

“Hey,” a voice, smooth as whisky whispers to him. “Did he hit you that often?”

Phineas calms a bit in Gwaine’s presence, although he’s still a little afraid. “More often than not,” he answers, trying to smile.

“I’m sorry about that. Listen, the ladies will take care of the children. They’ll treat Morpheus as their own now, I assure you.” He touches Phineas’ hair, and a shiver runs down the omega’s neck. “I hope you weren’t opposed to Arthur’s giving you to me. I do have a true mate…Nimueh. But Arthur knows that I willingly took Sophia as second mate and that I’m looking for a male third mate. As his second, it was meet for him to give what was rightfully his prize to me since he has no desire for another mate. But I would like to know your feelings on the matter?”

Phineas looks into Gwaine’s soft brown eyes. “You should know that I’ve had a mild crush on you from the moment I saw you,” he tells the alpha, and is embarrassed to find himself blushing.

Gwaine smiles. “That’s good, then. I find you very appealing myself. Although Samhain is a blur, I do recall a bit of it. That was dangerous for us, but we did have a good time…” He licks his lips. “Tonight we must mate.”

He takes Phineas’s hand and leads him into the bedroom, shutting the door. “This is about us. The women will join us another time, and we will make ourselves a family.” Gwaine begins to undress, and with every piece of fabric removed, Phineas’s cock gets fatter and his breath shorter.

He thinks that Gwaine has the finest abdominal muscles he’s ever seen and that he’d like to spend hours licking them.

Gwaine seats himself on the bed, which is large and takes up most of the room, probably due to the fact that Gwaine has so many mates. “Undress,” Gwaine tells him, and Phineas does so with trembling fingers. When he’s finished, Gwaine tells him to lie on the bed.

“You’re lovely, Phineas,” Gwaine pronounces, as he sniffs him all over, getting accustomed to his unique scent. He spends a long time going over Declan’s bite mark with his tongue, erasing the scent on the place where he’ll sink his own teeth during the tying. He sucks at Phineas’s fat cock and heavy sac before nuzzling his nose in the crevices between thighs and groin, Phineas moaning and writhing beneath him all the while.

Gwaine’s soon humping at the mattress with is hips, the sight of his pretty, round arse teasing Phineas, who can remember the texture of every hair on Gwaine’s arse against his tongue.

Gwaine abruptly flips Phineas onto his stomach and buries his nose between the cheeks of Phineas’s arse.

Phineas whimpers at the feel of hot breath there. He’s trembling all over now with want and need, spreading his legs wantonly for Gwaine, who inserts his fingers into him, then withdraws them and tastes his juices.

“Mmm…wonderful,” Gwaine murmurs, his clever tongue following them in. Phineas pushes back into the welcome intrusion, gasping and groaning eagerly, fingers tangling in the bedsheets.

“Please, alpha…now….” Phineas begs, longing to be filled with Gwaine’s cock. He'd never dared beg Declan...never really wanted to.

Gwaine gets to his knees, pulling Phineas to a crouching position. He gives a few more licks and sucks to the omega’s opening before positioning his large phallus there and easing it inside.

Phineas yells, pushing back onto Gwaine and making him curse hoarsely and begin to rut, all thoughts of going slowly dissolving in the presence of pure, electric bliss. Phineas rocks, desperate for his new alpha to lose control. He grabs the bedpost, holding on as Gwaine fucks into him. Phineas is already spurting from his cock, crying out, balls tight.

Gwaine relentlessly thrusts, inflamed to see the clear cum painting the headboard. The man impaled on his dick is so lovely, Gwaine’s hard as stone. He’s never been inside a man before, and it’s so tight…he feels his seed leaking out even as he knots, pushing inside the tight rim, bringing another shuddering climax out of Phineas, who trembles in Gwaine’s arms. Gwaine reaches around and milks it out of Phineas, then licks his fingers off, sucking on the delightful juices. They’re tied, and Gwaine leans in, tilting Phineas's head and biting down hard on his neck, careful to cover all of Declan’s hateful mark, sinking his sharp canines in as far as possible and drawing blood. Phineas’s cock pulses again and again, covering the wood and the sheets in front of them. Gwaine again pulls at it, coaxing more cum out, making Phineas whimper and squirm in a way that Gwaine finds delightful.

In the room next door, Sophia and Nim share the guest bed, faces buried between one another’s legs, listening to the noises of passion coming from the next room as they moan their own pleasure into the darkness.


	40. Council Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The councils of the two packs meet.  
> Arthur and Merlin have a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3

Arthur sleeps all day, and Merlin must wake him for the council meeting.

“Don’t think that you and I won’t be having our own talk,” Arthur tells him as he hurriedly rubs himself all over Merlin’s body, determined to have his scent all over him when Merlin goes before the alphas in the council meeting. “But it looks like much of this will be coming out in public first.” Merlin gasps as Arthur pushes his groin up against the small of Merlin’s back and buries his nose in the nape his neck, licking and sucking at it.

By the time Merlin leaves the room, he’s hard and panting.

Collum seems to be having trouble with the children, as they’ve caught wind of the news that their fathers are leaving them for the evening and don’t like it. They all scamper from the dinner table in different directions as Merlin finishes dressing.

Fifteen minutes later, Merlin stands with Ella in his arms, wiping pudding off her face as Collum takes care of an altercation between Em and Anastasia in the nursery. Artie has attached himself to Merlin’s leg and won’t let go.

Cenred comes to fetch them because of their tardiness.

“Everyone is waiting!” he announces with no small amount of exasperation. Glancing about at the craziness going on around him, Cenred rolls up his sleeves, and gets to work. He scoops up Hunith from the top of the refrigerator where she’s somehow stranded herself, screaming, and deposits her on the changing table, quickly whipping off her sopping wet nappy and providing her with a new one before placing her in her crib. He then carefully removes Anastasia’s sticky fingers from the back of Collum’s hair one at a time while Merlin changes Ella’s nappy and puts her in with her sister, all the while dragging Artie along with him, his pudgy arms and legs wrapped firmly about Merlin’s right calf.

Merlin bends down, prying the lad off. 

“Come here, luv,” Merlin says, kissing the tears from the boy’s pink, tear-stained face. “Your daddies have to go to a meeting, but we’ll be back shortly.” Merlin watches as Collum washes Stacy’s hands and gets her to bed while Cenred interrupts Igraine’s calm game of block building to place her in the crib with her sisters.

Arthur, who has finished dressing and looks edibly handsome to Merlin’s eyes, picks up Em and gives him a smacking kiss while carrying him to bed. He has to pry his little monkey-like grip from his neck to get him into the crib. “Seems a bit unfair that the boys get their own roomy bed while the four girls have to share.”

Merlin puts Artie in next to Em, who holds his arms out to his brother. “The boys need the room, the way they roll around in the night.”

Artie immediately plugs his pink mouth with his thumb and begins thumping the mattress rhythmically with his heel while Em sleepily plays with the fingers of Artie’s other hand.

Collum has turned off the overhead light, and Cenred switches on the little nightlight in the corner.

“Can we go now?” he asks Merlin and Arthur as he fixes his sleeves again and runs fingers through his short beard. They nod and follow him out of the house and into the dark night.

“Gods, your brood is a group of monkeys,” Cenred chuckles as they walk, shaking his head, “and now you’re having more?”

“Hey, we haven’t told anyone yet!” Merlin objects.

“I can smell it on you,” Cenred laughs, and Arthur growls, pulling Merlin closer to him.

“Stop sniffing my omega, before I put your nose out of commission entirely,” he warns Cenred, only half-joking as they enter the crowded meeting building.

Declan’s council is made up entirely of the alphas of his pack, all subordinates to Declan: three of them his seconds—Trevor, who is mated to Erynn; a man called Uallus, which means “foreigner,’ who is large and odd-looking, with eyes so light they are almost white; and another man called Ronan that Merlin remembers seeing at the bonfire dominating several omegas. All the alphas lift their heads and sniff the air when Merlin enters with Arthur and Cenred, and Merlin immediately leans closer to his Alpha. He is the only omega present at the meeting.

Another notable difference between the councils of the two packs is that the former Freemont Pack’s council contains no elders.  Arthur reformed his council a bit when he melded his pack with the Hobarts, and Pete now sits with them, along with the Pendragon’s oldest member, Gaius. Simon and Mitzi are also members.

The first thing Arthur does upon entering and taking stock of the Freemont council is to bark an order to his guards, which tonight include Percy, one of his largest alphas, and Sionn, an equally large Hobart alpha.

“Seize her, and take her to the cells,” Arthur points to Brionna.

“What?” Brionna bristles. “What is the meaning of this?”

“You have been conspiring against me with your brother, and I will not have you sitting on my council,” Arthur tells her. “You will await my judgment in a cell.”

The guards lay hold of Brionna's arms and drag her, screeching, from the building.

“I can’t believe she had the balls to come here,” Cenred whispers to Merlin.

“Perhaps she didn’t think we knew?” Merlin whispers back.

Arthur begins the meeting by letting the council know that, for the benefit of those who were not present in the early hours of that morning, he will again formally lay claim to the Freemont Pack when Declan’s body is burned outside the perimeters of the ranch later that evening.

Arthur also lets them know that before the next council meets, he will review its members and make necessary adjustments. There’s a brief rumbling of dissent at this announcement before Arthur continues by saying that much will be addressed to the two packs openly, but right now they want to get the facts straight.

“I haven’t had an opportunity to speak to my mate alone about the events of last night, so this will be the first time I’ve heard them. Merlin, please tell me, and the council, what happened.”

Merlin clears his throat and looks around the room, his body trembling a bit in the presence of so many alphas, particularly with his heat still present.

“I was in bed with my mate when Donald came to the window and told me that I was needed by another omega in the omega den. I went immediately. Half-way there, Donald stopped and told me that he couldn’t go on…that Declan was forcing him to do this. He had mated Donald’s younger sister and threatened her and his elderly parents and other sister. Donald was afraid, but he also didn’t want me hurt. It was too late, though, because Declan came running from the omega den with his two alphas and knocked Donald out. Declan pinned me to the ground. It wasn’t long after that when Arthur came.”

Merlin stands, waiting, feeling the tension radiating from his alpha. No one speaks a word.

Finally, Arthur takes a breath. It seems to be difficult for him to speak. He clears his throat.

“When I got there…I challenged Declan and we fought.” Arthur stops, and Merlin’s relieved when Gwaine takes over, describing the fight and Arthur’s victory. By the time he’s finished, Arthur seems to have himself together.

“I am the Alpha of this pack now,” he tells them. “I will say as much to the entire gathering outside, but if any of you don’t like it, then get out of my sight now. Submit to me, or leave this ranch and never come back.” Hard, blue eyes scan the room, and none can meet them. Merlin breathes a sigh of relief.

That night, Arthur claims both packs and Declan’s body is burned. Every wolf bows down to Arthur Pendragon as his Alpha. When Arthur gets Merlin inside their bedroom door, it’s well past midnight, and Merlin can sense a lecture coming, but he has other things on his mind. He clamps his mouth over Arthur’s before his alpha can say anything, biting at the red lips, slipping his tongue past them to taste, pulling him closer so that their cock’s align.

Never has Merlin been so turned on as he is at this moment, having this strong alpha by his side. Arthur fought for him and won, even going so far as to demean himself by letting another man enter his body. Arthur took over both packs and stood before them all with the smell of Declan’s burning body wafting through the air, daring any to try to take his rightful place from him.  None did.

Merlin pulls Arthur close, lips moving to Arthur’s ear, hands clutching at Arthur’s arse, pushing beneath the fabric of his trousers and grasping at the smooth globes. Arthur’s breath stutters in this throat, broad chest heaving against Merlin’s.

“I want you, my alpha. My Alpha.” Merlin’s words slip against the silky blond hair, groins nudging one another below their waists.

Arthur growls and immediately begins helping to get their clothing off, hands suddenly moving everywhere.

Their mouths meet, slick and uncoordinated, lust-sluggish in their movements as they continue to kiss and move toward the bed, where they fall. Arthur’s fingers and thumbs squeezing Merlin’s nipples makes Merlin crazy with need, and he humps at Arthur like a teenager.

“Merlin,” Arthur whispers. “I want you to erase all vestiges of him.”

Merlin isn’t sure he hears right. He pants into Arthur’s neck, tongue on his bite mark. “What?”

“I want you inside me,” Arthur clarifies, and Merlin stills.

He rises up onto an elbow and looks down into Arthur’s earnest face. “Arthur…”

“I mean it, Merlin.”

“I’m…it will be different.”

Arthur smiles his endearing smile, melting Merlin’s heart in his chest.

“Of course it will be, that’s the point,” Arthur tells him, lifting a hand to push the hair out of Merlin’s eyes.

Merlin leans down to rest his forehead against Arthur’s, eyes crossing. “You know very well what I mean. As an omega, I’m much thicker. It will be uncomfortable. You may not like it.”

Arthur runs his fingers down the curve of Merlin’s bare spine. “It’s you—I’ll love it,” he whispers, and kisses Merlin’s nose before nipping at the end of it.

“He hasn’t tainted you in any way, Arthur,” Merlin tells him. “I think what you did was wonderfully heroic, and I love you even more for it, if that’s even possible.”

Arthur raises his brow and says slowly, “Fuck. Me. Merlin.”

Merlin takes a quick breath. And then another. “Okay. Roll over.”

Arthur does, and Merlin spends a few long seconds just staring at Arthur’s arse, which he loves very much.

“Take a picture, it lasts longer,” Arthur finally tells him over his shoulder.

“Oh, hardy har har,” Merlin replies, slapping the pretty cheeks and making them bounce.

“Ouch!” Arthur pouts before getting into a crouch that makes Merlin dizzy with want.

“You don’t have the natural lubrication I do,” Merlin tells him, spreading Arthur's cheeks wide with his fingers and licking a stripe between them. Arthur lets out a long moan, clutching at the bed sheets before burying his face in them.

The rimming goes on and on, Merlin’s tongue both clever and insatiable. Merlin enjoys this and wants to make it last. He also realizes that it not only lubricates Arthur, but relaxes him, too. He begins adding fingers to stretch the puckered hole, teasing Arthur's prostate until he's shuddering with need.

Merlin makes certain there’s enough saliva inside Arthur to pave Merlin’s way before reaching back and using some of his own thick oestrum to coat his fat, hard cock.

“Are you ready?” he whispers to Arthur, his voice shaking with restraint.

Arthur only moans in answer and wiggles his arse, moon-white in the dark room.

Merlin sighs as he begins to push in, the head of his cock stretching Arthur’s rim obscenely, even after Merlin having his entire fist in there only moments before. Arthur pushes back, surprisingly hungry for it, and Merlin keens with the pleasure of it. Arthur’s rim looks like a greedy mouth swallowing him up.

“Fuck, Arthur!” Merlin whimpers as he begins to thrust, the very sight of his alpha at his mercy before him in a lascivious squat making him desperate to shoot his load. “I’m not going to last!”

Arthur pumps his own cock vigorously, which only inflames Merlin further. He can smell Arthur’s alpha testosterone—his contrasting subjugation making Merlin crazy. Merlin pants, barely able to move, he’s so aroused. He barely manages to slide all the way inside and all the way back out twice before coming hard, knocking Arthur flat on his stomach in the process. Merlin feels Arthur’s orgasm as inner muscles mercilessly wring Merlin’s cock dry.

Merlin leans down and kisses Arthur gently, everywhere he can reach before easing himself out and wrapping his alpha in his arms.

“Thank you,” Arthur murmurs as he falls asleep.


	41. Were Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sickness spreads throughout the pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains secondary character deaths. Yes, plural.
> 
> Also, cleaned up the last chapter a bit. I think that A/M scene reads better.

The following day Arthur has several members of his pack come to his home for a discussion while Collum takes the kids out for a walk. The Alpha’s spent the morning hammering it into Merlin’s head that if he ever leaves their bed without telling him again, he’s going to woefully regret it. Then he spent more time hammering it into Merlin’s arse; the latter part Merlin didn’t mind so much, but it now has him sitting on a cushion.

Will keeps sending Merlin snarky looks, most likely remembering his own punishment for being a naughty omega. Merlin steadfastly ignores his friend.

“Percy,” Arthur says when everyone he’s asked to come is present, “what is Donald’s condition?”

“He has not regained consciousness, Alpha,” Percy replies quietly. “Gaius tells me things do not look good for his recovery and that he may have only a matter of hours to live.”

Arthur looks down at the floor. “Although he did wrong and would have to be dealt with harshly, I know that Donald was in a difficult position and that you care for him very much, Percy. I’m sorry for what’s happening.”

Percy nods. “And I am sorry for my mate’s part in your difficulties, Alpha.”

“I know you are, Percy,” Arthur replies. He looks to Gwaine. “How goes it with Phineas? I know I foisted him upon you.”

“It goes well, Alpha. I am happy with your decision, and my mates are as well.”

“Good,” Arthur nods. “Where is he?”

“Pip has come down with something, and so has Sophia. Phineas stayed behind with Nim to nurse them,” Gwaine replies.

“They are sick?” Arthur frowns. Weres are seldom ill, and the news comes as a surprise to everyone present.

“Gaius saw them this morning and said it may be the were fever.”

Arthur, Merlin, Lance, and Simon all exchange looks. That would be a cruel irony after their recent deception.

“We may have to quarantine them,” Arthur tells Gwaine.

“Gauis is working on it now, trying to identify the infection,” Gwaine replies. “I haven’t been around the children since the fevers began and shouldn’t be contagious.”

Arthur nods. “All right. Let’s get down to business. You all heard me tell the former Freemont pack that they will now abide by our rules. It remains to be decided what we will do about Agravaine, Mithian, and Brionna, though.”

Simon coughs. “We think we have Agravaine under control,” he tells Arthur, and Lance nods.

“How so?” Arthur asks.

Percy speaks up. “We used a bit of coercion recently. You can trust us when we say you won’t have a problem from him.”

Arthur frowns, shrugging. “All right, if you say so. Brionna. She is an alpha, and she was working to help her brother win my pack. Not actually a crime in itself… She didn’t attack my omega.” He sighs. “I don’t trust her, but what can I do?”

“A probation of sorts?” Gwaine suggests. “We can watch her every move for a while. If she goes six months without incident, she will be trusted.”

Arthur nods. “We will discuss with Ewan if he still chooses to be mated with her. Mithian chose to leave our pack and now finds herself a member once again. I find I have very little patience with the girl.”

“I’ll take her on as a servant in the main house,” Mitzi suggests. “Work her hard.”

“That sounds best,” Arthur replies. “Thank you, Mitzi.” He looks around at the faces of his closest pack members. “I’d like to take this time to announce that Merlin and I are expecting another litter.”

There are smiles and congratulations all around.

“Now that this problem with Declan has been taken care of, Merlin and I sorely need some time with our children. Things have been getting out of hand, even with the help of Collum.” His eyes latch onto a spot of dried applesauce on the wall. Following his gaze, Will breaks out into laughter, and Leon digs an elbow into his mate’s ribs to silence him.

 Merlin narrows his eyes at Will.

“So, even though I know I should probably be visible, I am going to stick around the house for the next few days and put Gwaine in charge,” Arthur continues. “We are going to have to keep the two ranches separate…there’s no way to explain to the humans the two groups joining together. But I’m going to build a house for Merlin and myself between them…that way I’ll be accessible to both packs, which can combine in any manner they wish to on the two properties. The humans don’t notice who lives where, only that there are two separate ranches. Which brings me to another matter…we will have humans on the ranch in a couple of weeks inspecting the cattle. Everyone will be expected to be on guarded behavior then. Any questions?”

No one has any, so the group breaks up. When Collum returns with the children, Arthur gives him a few days off.

~~~

In coming weeks Arthur finds himself very glad to have taken the time off to be with his family. By the end of the month, the _were_ fever has swept through the ranches, taking the lives of Pip, Sophia, Mitzi, Bretta and a few of the Freemont pups, and Arthur is barraged with duties to perform. After the very last funeral, he’s called to Freya’s death bed.

Percy’s house is quiet, all the shades pulled down. It had been quite the surprise when on the fourth day of Donald’s coma, he’d opened his eyes and spoken to Freya, who’d been sitting at his side. After that, he’d continued to get stronger. As soon as he was able to get out of bed, Freya had taken to hers, the _were_ fever attacking her weakened state. She’d lost her pups almost immediately, and then the life continued to slowly ebb out of her.

When Arthur arrives, she’s only a shadow of her former self, and she’s only recently celebrated her fifteenth birthday.

Arthur takes her hand as he sits down. Percy stands in the doorway.

“Freya,” Arthur says, a lump rising in his throat.

“Alpha,” Freya smiles at him. “I wanted to see you before I go.”

Arthur squeezes her fragile hand. Her breathing is weak, and there are deep, dark circles beneath her eyes.

“Please…I’m begging you,” Freya’s words are so quiet, Arthur has to lean down to hear them. “Please forgive Donald for what he did. Percy needs him. He loves him. Donald was just doing what he could to protect his family. He knows he was wrong. He….he didn’t ask me to say this. Just please forgive him. Please. For me. I can go in peace if I know you forgive him and will let him stay with Percy.” Freya’s eyes are huge in her small face.

Arthur’s heart squeezes in his chest. He looks over his shoulder at Percy, who is openly crying, and what is Arthur supposed to say? He’s angry. He wants to tear Donald apart for putting Merlin in that danger. He wants to shake him and tell him what he should have done instead—point out the horrible things that could have happened. He might still do all that. But he can give poor, sweet, dying Freya this. He can give loyal, grieving Percy this.

“I forgive him, Freya,” Arthur tells her. “I do this for you. Rest now,” he leans down and kisses the top of her head, and she smiles at him—a truly happy smile.

When Arthur leaves the house, he passes Donald sitting at the kitchen table crying into his hands. Arthur suddenly realizes how very young Donald is…only nineteen-years-old.

That night, Freya dies in her sleep.


	42. Grief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwaine grieves.
> 
> Cenred wrestles with ghosts from the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: a little physical abuse

 

Gwaine lies in the bed between Nim and Phineas, still shocked by the deaths of Sophia and Pip, their funerals fresh on his mind. It only took a day for the fever to take them. He hadn’t even been in the house—he’d been busy performing Arthur’s duties. After that, all he’d been able to do was worry that Mary, Morpheus, Phineas, or Nim would come down with the illness and be taken from him, too. They’ve all spent so much time crying, it’s made them physically ill. Mary and Morpheus sleep in a crib by their bed because they can’t stand to have them even a room away right now. Sometimes it feels to Gwaine like he’ll never feel whole again.

Nim whimpers in her sleep, and Gwaine kisses her shoulder, slipping his cock between her legs and inside her body, rocking into her gently. She moans. He feels Phinny hardening against Gwaine’s arse, and he pushes back against the omega invitingly, loving the feel of that huge omega cock stretching Gwaine’s opening wide. Gwaine groans as it slides in. They begin to fuck slowly, all three of them, Gwaine’s fingers moving down to pleasure Nimueh as they do, her gasps of pleasure mingling with Phinny’s grunts and his own moans of ardor.

When they’ve climaxed, and Gwaine’s knot has gone down, the three fall asleep still connected.

~~~

“Cenred, are you all right?” Mordred asks in the darkness.

“Yes,” he whispers, but Mordred can tell he’s been crying again.

“I’m sorry about your mother,” Mordred tells him, touching his alpha’s bare shoulder.

“I know,” Cenred says, his body rigid and ungiving.

“I wish I could do something,” Mordred tells him.

“You can’t,” Cenred’s tone is harsh. Ever since Mitzi’s funeral, Cenred’s held himself away from Mordred. Their bond has been strained, and Mordred has felt almost physical pain from it. He gets out the bed, taking a blanket with him, and settles onto the couch. He can’t help the tears forming in his own eyes. Never in their mated life has he felt so alone, even at the beginning when Cenred had tried to act as though Mordred didn’t mean as much to him as Mordred knew he did.

Mordred knows that Cenred is grieving for his mother, but he doesn’t understand why he won’t let Mordred in. Cenred lived away from Mitzi for many years, and even after moving to the ranch, he hasn’t been close to her. He won’t share his thoughts or feelings with Mordred, and for the entire funeral he insisted on standing by himself, not letting Mordred touch him. Mordred has felt the loss, guilt, and despair through their bond. He can feel loneliness right now, yet Cenred will not come and get Mordred and bring him back to their bed. He keeps a wall up between them, and Mordred doesn’t know why. A small sob escapes his lips, and he buries his face in the couch pillow. After a while he falls into a fitful sleep.

Sometime in the night Mordred awakens to the sound of Cenred thrashing about in their bed, moaning through a dream. Mordred rushes into their bedroom and tries to comfort him, but as soon as Cenred comes fully awake, he pushes Mordred away.

“Leave me be, Mordred!” he tells the omega in a tone that cuts Mordred like a knife.

Mordred backs away from the bed and into the hall, checking on the boys sleeping peacefully in the nursery before leaving the house. He walks about the courtyard, despondent, breathing in the fresh night air and wiping at his tears with the palms of his hands. He’s shaking all over, Cenred’s unwillingness to be close to him unnerving him to the point that he’s beginning to feel physically ill.

“Mordred!” he hears Cenred bark from behind him, and he turns, happy to hear something other than the apathy he’s gotten from his alpha of late.

“Why did you leave the house?” Cenred demands, his face stony.

“You didn’t want me there,” Mordred answers.

“You are not to leave the house without my permission,” Cenred tells him. “Get inside this instant.”

Mordred’s hackles rise. “You won’t talk to me or let me in our bed, so I don’t see why you care,” he replies.

Cenred growls. “Don’t speak to me that way.”

“At least when I speak to you like this, you talk back to me rather than ignore me,” Mordred answers, and quick as a striking snake, Cenred raises his hand and strikes Mordred in the face.

Mordred stands, stunned, looking at Cenred’s equally stunned expression, his mouth falling open, hand still held in the air.

Mordred turns, shifts into wolf form, and runs, heading for the woods, Cenred yelling for him to stop, voice no longer angry, but panicked. Mordred’s body tries to obey, but he refuses to let it and keeps running.

“Mordred! Mordred, come back!” Cenred shouts, feeling sick, unable to process what just happened.

Simon, who is on guard duty, appears from around the corner.

“Trouble, Cenred?” he asks, looking off into the woods where Mordred’s wolf form disappears in the distance, the three-quarter moon shining down on his dark coat.

Cenred doesn’t answer.

“He has no idea why you’re acting like this, you know,” Simon tells him quietly.

“Of course I know that!” Cenred snaps, back stiffening, even as his stomach plummets. Simon knows, of course he knows.

“Being angry at her never did any good when she was alive, and it does even less good now that she’s dead,” Simon tells him reasonably. “And taking it out on Mordred makes even less sense.”

“What have I done?” Cenred clenches his fists together and fights the urge to vomit at his feet. “MORDRED!” he yells into the night.


	43. Disturbances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Cenred runs off to find his mate, Simon goes home to Lance, who is in heat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wonderful comments this morning! So nice to wake up to. Glad you are still enjoying the story.

Cenred is like a wild bear, crashing about the ranch bellowing his displeasure, and he knows it. He pounds on Gilli’s door, waking the beta up and demanding that he come to his home to watch his pups.

Worried, Simon summons Arthur, who comes from his house still gathering his pants about his waist.

“What’s going on?” Arthur demands. “Is someone attacking?”

“No, it’s Cenred,” Simon answers. “He’s been acting irrationally since his mother died, and he’s driven off Mordred. Now he’s going after him.”

“Driven him off?” Arthur looks confusedly around him just as Cenred appears, hair unusually disheveled and eyes a bit wild.

“Gilli has gone to my house to watch the boys. I’m going after Mordred.”

The commotion has a lot of lights coming on in windows around them. People begin appearing in doorways. Pete strides out of his house.

“What’s the problem, son?” He stops behind Cenred, eyes worried.

“Don’t speak to me!” Cenred whirls around and faces his father, face a mask of rage. “This is all your fault!”

The old man backs away, shocked.

“Cenred, get hold of yourself!” Arthur barks, and Cenred automatically takes a step back, although he still pants with ire.

“People act differently to grief,” Arthur tells him, lowering his voice. “I have lost both parents…I know this.”

“This is more than grief,” Cenred growls. “This is years of injustice!”

Simon grabs hold of Cenred’s arm. “Go find Mordred,” he tells him. “He’s an omega out in the woods alone.”

Cenred nods, shifts into his wolf form and takes off for the woods, leaving the other men staring at one another.

Simon steps toward Pete. “This is all coming out in a bad way. You need to talk to your son.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Pete replies with a frown. “What’s wrong with him?”

“It’s time you stop acting like Rex was some kind of god,” Simon replies harshly. “You drove Eunice away. Cenred wasn’t too young to remember. Make things right with him, Pete. Try to mend your relationship if you can.”

The old man flattens his mouth into a hard line, wrinkles appearing around it like tributaries from a river, before walking stiffly back into his house and slamming the door behind him. From the open window, they hear him call to Mithian to get him some warm milk and come to bed.

Arthur crosses his arms over his bare chest. “What’s going on?”

Simon sighs. “Hard feelings are coming to the fore now that Mitzi has died, and I’m afraid Cenred’s taken it out on Mordred. He struck him, and now Mordred’s run off into the woods. Let’s just hope Cenred finds him quickly and makes things right.”

Simon heads back to his post, which Sid has taken over for the time being. Things aren’t as dire as they were in their old encampment--no rogue wolf packs roaming around. Town and humans are so close, most weres stay far away from the vicinity. But Arthur keeps a few guards at the gates at all times just in case, and Simon agrees that it’s a good idea. Even Declan, who was a sluggish leader most of the time, adhered to that rule.

“Go on to bed,” Sid tells Simon when he reaches the gate. “It’s almost my turn anyway.”

Simon acknowledges his words with a small salute and heads for his house nearby. He finds Lance asleep on his stomach in their bed, sheet barely covering the bottom of his smooth, curved arse. Simon feels a tug in his groin and quickly slips out of his clothes, immediately hungry for his omega, whose heat must be coming on, judging by the sweet smell lingering in the air.

Lance seems to sense his alpha’s presence…his arse rises a bit from the mattress, glistening invitingly between the crack, a line of oestrum slowly trickling down his thigh.

Simon growls, his cock rising to point directly at its target. He stands, panting, just gazing at his omega awakening to his need.

When Lance goes into heat and gets all needy and presents to Simon, Simon loves to hear Lance ask him for it. It makes Simon so hard, he almost comes from the words alone. Lance once shyly admitted he gets a kick out of begging for it, too. It must have something to do with how long Simon waited and the fact that Lance wasn’t originally an omega.

So Simon leans against the wall, stroking his cock and watching Lance slowly becoming aware that his heat is rising and his alpha is nearby.

Oestrum runs freely between Lance’s legs now, the heady scent making Simon crazy with want. His own cock drips, and he uses the lubrication to further entice himself as he watches Lance blink his eyes open and look around.

“Simon?” Lance moans, sniffing the air. “Gods…Simon!” He pushes his arse up, heavy balls swinging enticingly between muscular thighs.

“I’m here,” Simon tells him, and Lance swings his head around.

“Simon,” he groans louder. “Come fill me, please…” Lance pulls on his own cock.

“You look so beautiful lying there, dripping for me, Lance,” Simon tells his omega, not moving from his place at the wall.

“Please,” Lance groans. “Give it to me.” He wiggles his arse. “Fuck me, Simon, please!”

Simon's heard all he wants to hear and darts forward. He quickly mounts Lance, shoving his cock inside, loving the grunts that come out of Lance’s mouth. He pushes the omega onto his stomach, flattening him as he fucks into him, hard, over and over again while Lance curses and moans, pushing his buttocks back hungrily. Simon nibbles at Lance’s ear, forcing his large knot inside his rim while Lance sobs out his orgasm into the mattress.

They stay like that for long moments, Simon rolling them to their sides so that Lance won’t be crushed beneath Simon’s weight. He leisurely pulls at Lance’s long beta cock, enjoying the tie while it lasts.

“Gods, I can feel every fucking inch of you inside me,” Lance breathes. “And that big bastard of a knot is…is crush-crushing my prostate…” he shudders, sighing, clear cum spurting over Simon’s squeezing fingers.

Simon sucks on Lance’s mating bite, prolonging the orgasm, feeling Lance’s quick breaths against his body. “You mother fucking bastard!” Lance cries out, “You fuck me so good!” He shudders again in Simon’s arms, and Simon’s knot breaks, letting go a massive wave of pleasure over his body. He bites down on Lance’s neck, feeling his seed leave his knot and surge inside of his omega, some of it squishing out with the oestrum and coating their thighs.

Simon spends a long time afterward licking Lance clean, running his tongue over the omega’s quivering hole, sucking the thick, sweet oestrum from the hairs around it before prodding Lance’s legs open and lapping at his balls and weary cock.

“I love you,” Simon tells his true mate, finally settling his head beside him on the pillow. Lance is half asleep, body replete.  He smiles lazily at Simon.

“I love you, too. How was guard duty?”

“Uneventful until Cenred and Mordred got into a lovers’ tiff.” He tells Lance about it. Lance suddenly closes his eyes as though in pain.

“Lance?” Simon runs a hand through Lance’s thick, dark hair. “Do you have a headache?” When Lance doesn’t answer, Simon shakes the omega’s shoulder. “Lance?”

Lance opens his eyes, blinking. “What?”

“What happened? You seemed to drift away for a second there.”

“I don’t know. I’m all right now.” He shivers. “My heat’s coming on again.”

Simon leans in and kisses Lance softly, their tongues meeting half-way as Simon rolls over on top of his mate. “You’re insatiable.”


	44. The Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cenred searches for Mordred.
> 
> Lance has a vision.

 

 

Merlin drinks his coffee with one hand, glancing out at the rising sun as he spoons oatmeal into Em’s mouth with the other hand.

“Artie, be a good boy and don’t throw your food,” he says automatically, even though the boy’s gotten better about that over the past couple of weeks.

Collum wipes off Igraine’s hands and sets her down to toddle off and play. Out of the six pups, she’s the best behaved. She calmly goes for her colouring books, taking them out of the chest she keeps them stored in and choosing some crayons before plopping down on her behind and setting to work.

“Color,” Em points, his mouth full of oatmeal.

“In a minute,” Merlin tells him. He places the spoon in his son’s hand. “Here, finish this up yourself.” He goes to the window and peers out. He can see Arthur’s blond hair shining in the morning sun. He stands with Percy, Simon, Leon and some others staring off into the woods.

Merlin’s worried about Mordred. He hasn’t come back yet, and Cenred’s been back and gone out again, this time taking a search party with him.

Merlin can’t imagine what Mordred’s going through—separated from his mate like he is. Merlin imagines that the pull of the bond is too strong for Mordred to be avoiding Cenred like he is, and Merlin worries that something’s happened to his friend out in the woods. He washes his hands, rinses out a cloth and uses it to clean off Ella’s face before letting her down to play.

“Go on, Merlin,” Collum tells him. “I know you want to get out there. I can handle the children.”

Merlin smiles at him and puts the dishes in the sink before rushing outside. The day is cold, but clear, with the sun rising fast. Merlin hurries to join Arthur’s group, which has multiplied to include some of the pack’s newest members. Merlin bristles when he sees Ros, a Freemont omega who has offered himself as a mate to Arthur on more than one occasion since the packs merged in spite of Arthur’s proclamation that he will not take another mate. Merlin growls, moving to stand between Arthur and Ros, wrapping himself around Arthur’s arm and baring his teeth at the offending omega until he backs away and goes to stand on the other side of the group next to Leon and Will. Arthur pulls Merlin in close, and Merlin bares his neck for Arthur to lick and nibble on, sending Ros a self-satisfied glare. Arthur pulls Merlin in front of him, rubbing his cock against him, marking him even through their clothing, something he’s taken to doing since Declan’s attack. Arthur wants his scent all over Merlin all of the time, and Merlin likes it; it makes him feels safe and secure. He finds that the other alphas in the pack stay a safe distance from him, being able to smell Arthur all over him. Even now Gwaine moves so that Phineas stands between himself and Merlin.

“Simon!” Someone shouts, and Simon moves through the growing crowd waiting by the edge of the woods. Merlin looks over his shoulder and sees Allison running towards the group.

“Lance has collapsed!” she cries, and Simon breaks out in a run for the main house where Lance has been building a new bed for Pete. Merlin tells Arthur he’s going to go help, and Will and Phineas go with him.

When they enter the main house, Merlin is a little surprised at how much it’s changed in the short time since Mitzi’s death. It had always smelled of baking food, but now an odor of grease hangs in the air. It needs a good dusting, and Merlin detects the general aura of neglect creeping in. Only Pete and Mithian live there, and the way that Pete is cozying up to the housekeeper makes Merlin think he’ll mate her before long.

Lance lies unconscious on the bedroom floor where he evidently collapsed, tools scattered about his feet. Allison has placed a cushion under his head and dabs a cool cloth to his temples.

“Lance?” Simon kneels by his side, face ashen, taking Lance’s limp hand and squeezing it. “Lance?”

Will fetches a glass of water and brings it in. Lance's eyes begin to roll behind closed lids before fluttering open.

“Thank the gods,” Simon whispers.

“Lance, can you hear us?” Merlin asks, bending over him.

“What…what happened? Mordred?” Lance frowns.

Merlin and Phineas share a look. “Mordred isn’t here,” Merlin tells Lance, placing a calming hand on the man’s shoulder.

“I saw him…in the woods. In…he’s in a hole.” Lance opens his eyes and looks up at Merlin before turning his head and meeting Simon’s worried eyes.

“A hole?” Simon asks. “Shhh…love, just rest. You’ve hit your head.” He presses a kiss to the back of Lance’s hand.

Allison looks at Simon. “I don’t think he did. I saw him fall. He was kneeling and then just sort of looked ahead at nothing for a moment and keeled over on the floor. Not even more than a couple of feet.”

“Find Mordred…He’s hurt!” Lance begs as he tries to sit up, but Simon pushes him back down. “I’m telling you, Simon!” Lance becomes more lucid by the second as he pleads, and soon Simon can’t keep him down. Lance finally scrambles to his feet, pushing Simon away, and runs out of the room, crashing down the stairs, the others following close behind.

Outside, Simon catches up to his mate. “Okay, Lance, okay!”  He swings Lance around to face him. “We’ll tell them what you said, only stop running away from me!”

“I’ll tell Arthur right now, Lance,” Merlin assures his friend. “Arthur will listen.” Merlin sets off toward the edge of the woods where the crowd has split. When he gets closer, he finds that Cenred and his searchers have returned once again without having found any sign of Mordred.

Cenred looks terrible. He’s pacing and ranting, pulling at his hair with his fingers until it all stands atop his head. He looks wild.

“Where could he be? Would he leave the woods? Where would he go?” he rambles. Silas tells Arthur that they found prints, but they seem to lead nowhere. They’ve been calling Mordred’s name for hours with no answer.

“I can’t feel our bond!” Cenred closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. “I don’t feel him!”

“He’s got to be alive,” Arthur tells Cenred, grasping the man’s arm. “Or you wouldn’t be. Hang on to that.”

“Arthur,” Merlin calls, breathing hard. “Lance…he says…I don’t know, he’s had a vision or something. He sees Mordred in a hole. He insists he’s in a hole and needs help.”

“What?” Arthur frowns.

“Lance was unconscious, and he awoke babbling about Mordred being in a hole.” Merlin looks over his shoulder to see Simon, Will, Phineas, and Lance approaching.

Cenred pushes people aside to meet them. “What?” he demands of Lance. “You’ve seen Mordred? Where?”

Lance stands straight. “He’s in the woods somewhere. He’s not conscious. He’s hurt…I saw it all before I blacked out. I don’t know what’s happening to me!” He leans against Simon.

“Did we see any holes?” Cenred asks Silas and the other men who’d gone with him.

“There was so much foliage and brambles…a lot of it covered with snow. There could have been a hole, I suppose,” Silas answers.

“We’ll go back,” Cenred states.

“I’m going this time,” Arthur replies. They shift and set off.

~~~

Mordred had been running when he fell, and he thinks he must have fallen a long way. All he can see now is darkness and roots. It’s confusing, almost as though he doesn’t know which way is up. Something brought him to consciousness, but he isn’t sure what; all is quiet.

He wonders what time it is. Pain radiates from his foot all the way up his leg. His bond hurts, and he ignores it, unwilling to reopen that wound.

The smell of dank, rich soil meets his nose from every angle. Some of it crumbles and drops into his face and hair. Mordred feels a prickling at his bond again. He remembers the slap to the face and Cenred’s face both before and after. Before, stone cold and uncaring—after, shocked and afraid. Mordred wishes he hadn’t run away from him. He’d just been so shocked and hurt at the slap. Cenred had never hit him before. He could see from his alpha’s face how much he’d regretted it.

Cold and consuming despair slowly creeps into Mordred from his bond to Cenred. His alpha is looking for him. He’s upset. Very upset. The more lucid Mordred becomes, the more he feels Cenred’s precarious mental state, balancing alarmingly on the precipice of total collapse. He tries to sit up. More dirt falls onto him in a cascade that makes him cough and splutter. Closing his eyes, he tentatively reaches out to Cenred, who latches on immediately with an extreme mixture of relief, sorrow, misery, apology, and eager seeking that overwhelms Mordred, loosening their connection for a moment and causing him to sag back in exhaustion.

Immediately Cenred calls to him again and again, the bond tugging, and Mordred tries to answer. He’s cold and afraid, the apathy of his unconscious state quickly wearing off and sending him into a tailspin of panic. Where is he? He looks up into darkness, to the right and to the left---it’s all the same and very unnerving.

A howl sounds in the distance, and Mordred clears his throat and tries to duplicate it, but finds he can’t make much of a sound. He concentrates, filling his mind with feelings of cold, tired, afraid. It’s all he can do.

And he waits.


	45. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mordred is found. Gaius gets his groove back. Or begins to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit before work. I hope it's not a mess.
> 
> Uallus is pronounced Wallace.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Simon asks Lance again, handing him a cup of whiskey. Lance is staring at Uallus. “What’s the matter?”

Lance shakes his head vigorously, as though to clear it. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately. I’m seeing things.”

Simon leans closer to his mate. “What are you seeing now?”

“I’m seeing a hundred others just like that man over there…the one with the weird, whitish eyes. They all have eyes like that, and they’re all huge like he is, and have that raven-colored hair, braided in that same sort of way.”

“What do you think it means?” Simon asks him, glancing over his shoulder at Uallus.

“I haven’t a clue,” Lance replies with a sigh. It’s almost night-fall. Donald and Allison have brought food out and many are waiting near the woods for Arthur, Cenred, and the others to come back. Several torches have been lit. Simon sniffs the air.

“Your heat…we need to get you inside,” Simon pulls Lance to his feet.

“I have to see Mordred come home,” Lance protests although his body is already leaning toward his alpha.

“We’ll come back,” Simon tells him. When Lance hesitates, Simon bends and hoists his mate over his shoulder, carrying him back to their house. He barely makes it inside the door before dropping Lance unceremoniously onto the floor and yanking his pants down to his ankles. “You smell delicious,” he tells him as Lance turns over, inviting him in.

“I’m going to fill your belly with my pups, pretty mate,” Simon tells him, fucking into him hard, and Lance moans.

“I want that, Simon,” he says, and Simon grasps Lance’s hips, moving faster. The scent of Lance’s heat teases his nostrils, making him crazy with lust.

Outside, Will peers anxiously into the dark woods, Vick squirming in his arms.

“Be still!” he tells his son. “I’ll take you back inside if you can’t be good.”

Vick immediately halts all movement, obediently placing his head on Will’s shoulder. “I just can’t believe this is happening,” Will says to Merlin. “Why did Mordred run off like that?”

“Simon said he was upset. Cenred slapped him,” Merlin answers, tucking his fingers beneath his armpits for warmth. He looks worried, and Will thinks Merlin's concerned about Arthur as well as Mordred now.

“Why have they been gone so long?” Merlin asks moments later, confirming it.

“A lot of woods to cover, especially when you’re looking for a hole in the dark,” Will says. Leon’s gone with them, and he has to admit he’s a little worried, too. It’s always difficult to be separated from one’s alpha and true-mate. “Cenred’s been shutting Mordred out since Mitzi’s death. I can’t imagine how hard that’s been for him.”

Merlin nods.

“I’m going to go put this one to bed,” Will finally says. Vick’s eyes are closed, his thumb in his mouth. Merlin follows.

Inside the house, all is quiet. Allison sits reading a book under the dim light of a lamp. She smiles at Merlin and Will as they walk through the living room and Will nudges the door open to the nursery, laying Vick carefully in his crib next to his sleeping siblings. When he joins Merlin in the kitchen, his friend has helped himself to a cup of the tea that Allison has made. A commotion from outside causes him to spill it all over his hand. Ignoring it, Merlin is the first out the door.

“What’s happening?” Merlin shouts.

“They’ve found Mordred!” The cry gets passed around and the smile Merlin turns and gives Will lightens Will’s heart.

~~~

Gaius has been healing people since he was a child, using his hands and the plants of the forest. Sometimes he uses the advice of the gods of nature, but that’s his business. He considers himself a people person, but ever since the Pendragon pack became one with the Freemont pack and he found himself having to deal with the person who passed for their medical staff, he is running out of patience fast. Yet, he somehow feels the need to accept the boy, who is unusual.

Sigmund is not a physician and certainly not a healer. Merlin has already informed Gaius that the Freemonts didn’t know enough to shift for the birth of their pups, so Gaius is aware that Sigmund couldn’t be very savvy in the ways of nature. He really seems to be more of a helper, born into the job somehow. Why the annoying beta has insisted on planting himself in Gaius’s work room so often since the packs merged, Gaius doesn’t know, unless the boy fancies that he will learn to be a healer by watching Gaius work. He’s even moved his living quarters over to this ranch, using the small shed-like house nearby to sleep in. Gaius supposes if that is the boy's intent, he might as well use it.

He does see some sense in it; afterall, he’s getting older, and with the death of Gwen, he doesn’t have anyone to take over. He’s been having a lot of aches and pains, although they’ve been better since he’s been bathing in the hot springs. Just that morning Lance had seen him there and been kind enough to massage his tired back. Gaius hadn’t felt the terrible twinge that had set up residence there since.

Sigmund is barely an adult, tall, lean, with strawberry blond hair that he keeps pulled back in a ponytail. He has tawny-colored eyes that seem to land on Gaius a bit too frequently for the physician’s liking, but other than that, he seems to be rather shy, as he has yet to speak. As the men bring Mordred in, Sigmund stands in the shadows, watching curiously. Gaius shoos out everyone but Sigmund and Cenred, who have no intention of leaving anyway.

Cenred tightly holds Mordred’s hand and won’t let go, even when Gaius tells him to stand back so that he can examine the omega. Finally, Gaius orders Cenred to place Mordred in Gaius’s bed and for Cenred to strip down and climb in with him. That, Cenred reacts to. Gaius can see Sigmund’s surprise, and he inwardly chuckles.

Gaius surprises himself after that by beginning to talk to the other beta, who looks at Gaius eagerly, drinking in his every word.

“You’ll notice that the omega reacts to the alpha’s physical presence and his touch.” Gaius begins his examination, concentrating on Mordred’s left leg which Mordred’s obviously twisted painfully. After a moment he decides that if Sigmund is going to hang around in the corner, he might as well be helpful.

“Bring me a warm, wet rag, please, Sigmund.”

Sigmund does, and Gaius instructs him to begin wiping the dirt from Mordred’s body. Cenred is whispering in Mordred’s ear, planting kisses all over his face, and Gaius is happy to see that Mordred seems to be responding. When he has Mordred’s swollen ankle poulticed and bound, he moves away from the bed, retreating to a corner where Sigmund has somehow found the time to make some tea.

“Thank you,” Gaius tells him, easing down into a chair. Sigmund gives him a small smile.

“Do you ever talk?” Gaius smiles back at him before taking a sip. “This is lovely,” he says, wondering at the unique taste. “What is it?” Sigmund gestures, making the motions of a tall, noble man, blinking his eyes prettily, looking so Lance-like that Gaius has to laugh. The physician looks more closely at the boy. “Can’t you talk, young man?”

Sigmund shakes his head.

“Have you ever been able to speak?” Gaius asks, and Sigmund again shakes his head, no.

A noise from the bed gains Gaius’s attention.

“I’m sorry, so sorry,” Cenred sobs, and Mordred, eyes now open, runs his fingers through his alpha’s hair, which has come loose from its tie.

Gaius gets up and goes over to look into the blue depths of Mordred’s eyes, making sure the pupils are even. When he returns, Sigmund’s tawny eyes are questioning.

“He seems to be all right. They’ll sleep here tonight,” Gaius tells him.

Sigmund points to the bed and then to Gaius.

“Yes, that’s my bed, but I’ll make due with a pallet on the floor.”

Sigmund immediately gets up and begins moving pillows and blankets about, creating a space for Gaius to sleep.

“Thank you, Sigmund,” Gaius tells him, a little taken aback. “That’s very kind of you.”

Sigmund smiles at him and heads out to his shed with a small wave. Gaius checks to make sure Cenred and Mordred are sleeping before he lies down on the surprisingly comfortable make-shift bed. He feels lighter than he has in a long while, his back giving him no trouble at all. It isn’t long before he’s asleep.


	46. Winter

“Have you noticed something different about Gaius?” Arthur asks Merlin one day about a week later as they sit outside watching the children play.

“He seems happier,” Merlin replies, accepting a bundle of flowers from Ella and giving her a smile and a kiss on the cheek.

“He seems younger,” Arthur notes, staring at Gaius as he walks about in his crimson tunic, picking herbs in the nearby field with Sigmund following with his basket.

“Lance has been giving him massages, and Gaius has been visiting the hot springs in the hills,” Merlin tells him. “It’s making him more limber.”

Arthur nods slowly. “Well, whatever it is, he’s moving like a man half his age all of a sudden. And he’s gained muscle tone.”

“He does look good,” Merlin agrees with a smile. “It may also have something to do with all the help Sigmund’s giving him.” They watch as Gaius leans his head back and laughs.

“What’s he laughing at?” Arthur asks. “Isn’t the boy mute?”

“He’s a master at impersonation,” Merlin tells his mate. “You should see him do you.”

Arthur glares, and Merlin grins before leaning in and giving Arthur a kiss.

Merlin spots a figure coming their way. When he realizes it’s Ros, his expression immediately goes sour. “Uh, oh. Here comes your admirer.”

Arthur laughs. “He just won’t give up, will he?”

“You’re loving this, aren’t you?” Merlin mutters, pulling at the grass beneath his hands.

“Alpha, I brought you some coffee,” Ros says brightly, handing Arthur a steaming cup, his motions so slick and calculated, Merlin rolls his eyes heavenward.

“Thank you, Ros.” Arthur takes a sip. Merlin is sure Ros purposely flexes his biceps as he stands there in the late winter sun picking lint off his tight shirt. He stifles a laugh when Artie splatters Ros with mud from the mud pie he’s constructing.

“You know,” Arthur comments after a moment when Ros doesn’t make a move to leave and the strained silence stretches out, “since you’re so eager to be mated, perhaps we should talk about the prospective alphas in our pack. Silas is looking for a mate.”

Ros makes a face. “He’s so…abrasive.”

“Don’t be so hasty,” Arthur tells him. “Silas has many good qualities.”

“I like my men smooth,” Ros says, and Merlin narrows his eyes.

“Well, how about Oscar?” Arthur suggests.

“Too short,” Ros says. “I like them tall with broad shoulders.”

Merlin flares his nostrils, anger stirring in his belly.

“There’s Gerry…” Arthur says.

“I prefer blonds,” Ros replies in a manner so forward that Merlin immediately gets to his feet, having had enough.

“All right, enough of that. Beat it. Get out of here before I take you by the scruff of the neck and haul you off!”

Ros appears taken aback by Merlin’s outburst, and turns to Arthur, who only smiles a little too delightedly for Merlin’s taste.

“Better do as he says, Ros,” Arthur tells him, taking another sip of his coffee before Merlin swipes it out of his hand and shoves it into Ros’.

“And you can take your stupid coffee with you!” Merlin growls at him, giving his shoulder a shove.

Ros leaves in a tiff, and Arthur rolls on the ground, laughing.

“Shut it,” Merlin snaps.

“Daddy cross,” Em announces, running over to throw himself onto Merlin’s lap.

“Not with you, Em,” Merlin assures him, kissing his silky, dark curls. “Run play now, before we have to go inside. It looks like it might snow at any time.”

Donald comes from the barn with a tool box, sees Arthur and Merlin, and goes out of his way not to have to pass them on his way to the fence.

“He’s still avoiding you,” Merlin comments. “Me, too, I guess, although I’ve spoken to him a few times.”

“I may have been a little too harsh with him,” Arthur sighs. “I was very, very angry.”

Merlin lies on his side in the grass and looks down at Arthur. “He knows it could have been so much worse. He’s ashamed.”

Arthur nods and pulls Merlin down for a kiss.

“Have you seen any of those delicious berries growing around here anywhere?” Merlin asks after a moment.

Arthur groans. “Not craving those again, are you?”

Merlin pouts. “I love those.”

Arthur rolls his eyes. “There might be some in the woods.” He sits up. “What time is it? I’ve got to be at the main house by one.”

“What for?” Merlin asks, gathering the children’s toys together.

“Cenred wants me there when he talks to his father.”

When Arthur arrives at the main house, he’s the first one there. He looks about for Pete, but the place seems empty. A few moments later Mithian appears on the stairs looking disheveled. When she sees Arthur, the look she gives him is so full of hatred that Arthur is stunned. She disappears outside and then Pete comes clomping down the wooden stairs in his boots.

“Alpha! I didn’t know you were here already. I was just…well, taking a break upstairs. Would you like a drink?”

“No, thank you,” Arthur replies, taking a seat by the window.

“I don’t know what Cenred wants to talk about. Seems to me he’s wasting your time asking you here,” Pete grumbles.

“I don’t mind.”

There’s a brief knock on the door, and Simon enters. “Cenred and Mordred are on their way,” he tells them.

“What’s this all about?” Pete asks Simon.

“Pete, I can’t believe you don’t know, but if I really have to spell it out…it’s about Rex and Eunice and why she left. And it’s about Cenred and the reason he could never look his mother in the eye after he came back here.”


	47. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cenred confronts Pete.  
> Merlin and Arthur at the end of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: This chapter contains mention of past molestation, rape, and incest.

Mordred squeezes Cenred’s hand. They’ve put this off as long as possible, Cenred insisting that Mordred take more time than he really needed to heal from his fall in the woods. All weres heal quickly, and Mordred was up and around in no time, or would have been if Cenred hadn’t insisted he remain in bed once he’d taken him back to their house. The children had gone to stay at Gilli and Daegal’s for two days while Cenred had waited on Mordred hand and foot.

_“Cenred, please stop,” Mordred finally told him._

_Cenred sat on the edge of their bed, head in hands, body trembling. “I can never make this up to you, Mordred,” he told him, voice muffled. Mordred crawled up to wrap his body around him from behind._

_“You don’t have to. I knew something was wrong.” The skin of Cenred’s back was smooth beneath Mordred’s cheek, and Mordred began planting kisses there, arms wrapping around his mates lean waist._

_“Gods, Mordred, I never meant to take this all out on you,” he whispered._

_“She was your mother; you loved her.”_

_“I hated her.”_

Mordred startles to attention when they reach the ranch, and Simon meets them at the door.

Pete appears annoyed and out-of-sorts, while Arthur sits patiently in the living room appearing mildly curious. Mordred has not let go of Cenred’s hand, and he doesn’t plan to unless his mate moves to do it first.

“Cenred,” Simon begins. “Let’s cleanse the air of this once and for all. It’s eating you alive, and it’s all in the past.”

Cenred’s fingers clench Mordred’s. _Say it, Cen. Say it, and let’s be done with it._

Mordred doesn’t think he can look at the old man the same way ever again.

“What’s this about, Cenred?” Pete growls. “Seems you’re making a mountain out of a molehill about something, dragging the Alpha over here for no good reason.”

Mordred sees Arthur open his mouth to protest but think better of it and shut it again.

“It’s you…and Mitzi,” Cenred begins, not looking his father in the eye. Mordred squeezes his hand. “Eunice took me away.”

“She had no right to do that, but what’s done is done,” Pete mutters. “Why bring it all up again now? You’re a grown man with children.”

Cenred looks over at the mantle. At the picture of Rex.

“He used to…he wouldn’t let her…”

“He wouldn’t let her date that no good rogue she said she was in love with. That’s why she left,” Pete interrupts. “Rex was a good brother to Eunice.”

“He didn’t want any of the pack to mate outside ourselves.”

“None of those rogues were good enough!” Pete nods.

“He wanted them all for himself,” Cenred clutches a hand to his chest, and Mordred finally lets go his hand and wraps his arm around his waist.

“It’s true,” Simon agrees. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Rex would take any pack member he pleased.”

Pete frowned. “Why shouldn’t he? He was pack leader! And a good one!”

“His own sister!” Cenred yells suddenly, and Mordred’s grip on his waist tightens.

Pete looks surprised, but not shocked. “Cenred, you were a child. What do you know about it? What lies did Eunice tell you?”

“She told me everything!” Cenred shouts, and Arthur stands up.

Simon puts a hand on Cenred’s arm. “It’s okay.” He looks at Pete. “She took him away so Rex wouldn’t touch him. You and Mitzi…particularly Mitzi…let it happen under your roof.”

“Mitzi knew!” Cenred yells, tears of rage in his eyes. He breaks away from Mordred’s grip.  “She knew! She knew all along, and she covered it all up! The rapes! The pregnancy!”

Pete’s face grows from red to white so fast Mordred thinks the old man’s going to collapse, and Arthur takes a quick step toward him.

“What are you talking about?” Pete’s voice is harsh. “Pregnancy? Eunice was never pregnant!”

“She was!” Cenred tells him, body shaking now. “She was pregnant with one sickly pup.”

It’s quite obvious to everyone in the room that Pete didn’t know this piece of information. He backs up until his legs hit the sofa and he sits. “Are you telling me…are you telling me…”

Simon’s eyes are wide, too, and Mordred sees that he only knew of the rapes and molestations.

“Cenred, are you saying that Eunice was your mother and Rex your…father?” Simon asks quietly, looking a little sick.

Cendred’s entire body trembles, and Mordred’s suddenly transported to three evenings ago when Mordred heard the truth and Cenred completely fell apart in his arms; it had been horrendous, and Mordred had had to get Gaius to administer a sleeping draught. Since then, they’d done nothing but talk and cry.

“That couldn’t be true,” Pete whispers through clenched teeth.

“It is,” Cenred assures him. “It is! She had to get away from here. Rex wouldn’t leave her alone. He told her he was in love with her.” Cenred laughs bitterly. “He was sick and twisted—not the perfect son Mitzi always talked about, even though she knew what he did!”

“Rex was a little wild,” Pete admits softly, “but not like that…”

“Stop defending him!” Cenred yells, and Mordred puts a hand on his mate’s arm.

“He wouldn’t…” Pete shakes his head firmly, eyes going to the mantel.

Simon interrupts. “He would, and you know it. Think, man. Think to all the altercations that happened in the years before his death. Think about the riffs within the pack and the amount of times you and Mitzi had to intervene! You know what your son was doing…the underage kids he messed with. And you know that’s how he ended up dying.”

Pete clamps his lips together stubbornly and crosses his arms over his chest.

Cenred balls his hands into fists. “You disgust me,” he spits out, voice trembling. “I should never have come back here!” He turns and storms out of the house. Mordred stands staring at Pete.

“How could your wife just stand by and watch that happening?” he asks the old man.

“He’s lying,” Pete tells him. “Mitzi didn’t do that. Cenred’s crazy.”

Rage blinding him, Mordred grasps Pete by the collar and lifts him off the sofa like a bag of dirty laundry. “Don’t you ever say that again, old man, or I’ll slit your throat.” He throws him back onto the cushions and follows Cenred out.

~~~

When Arthur relates all this to Merlin later, Merlin is gobsmacked.

“Oh gods, no wonder Cenred has issues!” he shakes his head. “We’ll just keep this to ourselves. No need for anyone else to know.”

Arthur agrees.

Artie’s lying asleep on Merlin’s stomach, thumb in mouth. He’d been difficult at bedtime, and Collum had brought him in for his parents to deal with while he got the rest of them to bed. Arthur pulls the sheet up over his naked form as Collum walks back in to collect him.

“He’s such a sweet-looking thing,” he says, picking the boy up and putting him on his shoulder. “Looks so much like his alpha-da,” Collum winks at Arthur before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.

Merlin’s eyes widen. “Did you see that?”

Arthur shakes his head. “Merlin, this jealousy is ridiculous.”

Merlin’s eyes narrow. “Oh, it is, huh? What about anytime I get near an alpha? Your jealousy doesn’t seem so ridiculous.”

“That’s different,” Arthur growls, pulling Merlin closer to nibble at his mating bite.

“I don’t see how,” Merlin protests, pushing at Arthur’s shoulders.

“I’m your alpha, and it’s instinctual for me to defend you,” Arthur tells him, his tongue running up the side of Merlin’s neck and making him shiver.

Merlin clasps Arthur’s face between his fingers, forcing him to look at him. “Collum’s harmless, but I want you to get Ros mated to the ugliest, most disgusting alpha in this pack --pronto.”

Arthur raises a brow, lips squeezed into a parody of a fish. Merlin kisses them before disappearing under the covers to replace Arthur’s expression with a look of pure bliss.


	48. Bits and Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete struggles with his memories.  
> Gaius gets a surprise.  
> A moment between Cenred and Mordred.
> 
> Here's a shout out to read ArchangelRoman's new wip at http://archiveofourown.org/works/943612/chapters/1841002  
> which I totally chickened out of writing with him because I know I would screw it up. But I totally want to write something with him soon. It's a really cool universe--you won't be sorry for getting lost in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 to all of you and your sweet comments.  
> Today was a long day for me.

 

Pete knocks hard on Burt’s door until the old man opens it.

“What is it?” Burt asks. “Where’s the fire?”

Pete pushes his way inside. “I’ve got a question, and I need it answered now.”

Burt scratches at his belly and sits down in his chair where he’d been reading. “I was just having a whiskey. Pour yourself some. What’s this about?”

Pete pours a glass of the amber liquid and takes the chair opposite. He rubs at the stubble on his face. For three nights he’s been thinking about Cenred’s allegations.

“You remember when Mitzi was pregnant with Cenred?” he asks his friend.

Burt looks down into his glass. “’Course I remember.” He drinks. “Stupid question. I’m not that old yet, and I was there.”

“Cenred says he’s not our child. Says he’s…Eunice’s. That Eunice got pregnant…from Rex,” Pete says the words very fast before he can stop himself. Burt’s eyes meet his in shock, but Pete can immediately tell…it’s not the shock of someone that has just heard something deplorably disturbing; it’s the shock of someone who didn’t ever expect those words to come out of Pete’s mouth.

“You knew!” Pete accuses his oldest friend. “You were our pack healer, and you knew!” He runs his hand through his thick, grey hair. “But Mitzi was pregnant! I know she was!”

Burt sets his glass down, hand shaking a little.

“By the gods, Burt, you’d better tell me the truth!” Pete threatens.

“She was pregnant, but the pup was still-born,” Burt tells him. “She stayed in the omega den with Eunice --Eunice hadn’t been eating properly--you couldn’t even tell she was carrying with those hippy shirts she used to wear—and when Eunice gave birth a couple days later, Mitzi took Eunice’s pup. Mitzi insisted on keeping it all secret and raising Cenred as your child.”

Pete puts his face in his hands, his heart hurting. “But…why? Why did she lie to me?”

“Only Mitzi knows the reason for that, but she swore me to secrecy. I assume she didn’t want you to be hurt over Rex and Eunice,” Burt tells him. “Mitzi loved Rex with all her heart. That boy was everything to her.”

Pete staggers to his feet, not knowing what to think or feel.

“I’m sorry, Pete. It’s an ugly thing. All of it. I didn’t realize that Eunice ever told Cenred the truth. That’s a hard thing for a kid to live with.”

“I think she wanted to make sure he hated us,” Pete says dully before leaving the house and slowly making his way home.

The house is dim when he enters it. Mithian has made him some warm milk and left it warming on the stove. He gets a mug and pours some into it, standing by the window drinking, staring outside at the falling snow. He wonders how he could have been so wrapped up in himself all those years ago not to notice all the things going on right under his nose. He thinks back to Rex, but all he can remember is an outgoing young man whom everyone seemed to adore. Pete doesn’t recall Eunice avoiding her brother. He does remember them doing a lot of things together… particularly when Cenred was a pup. And Mitzi was always with Cenred. She doted on him. There were big meals with the whole family present…Hagen so scholarly and quiet, and Leith always the clown. Eunice would sit next to Rex; he always demanded it.

The more Pete thinks about it, the more he remembers Eunice trying to be closer to her “little brother,” and Mitzi pushing her away while Rex would draw Eunice closer to him. And he remembers Eunice starting to avoid them all and getting involved with Tom from the other pack and how Rex threw a fit and tried to stop it. Pete always thought he was being a good brother to her, but now everything has a different light cast on it.

The day Eunice ran off with Tom and took five-year-old Cenred with her was the worst day in Pete and Mitzi’s life. Rex had been angry for months, rampaging on and on. They weren’t allowed to speak Eunice’s name in his presence ever again. After a while Mitzi felt sure they were dead.

Pete didn’t know about any of this, no matter what Simon thinks. And Simon intimated that Rex molested others, and that Pete knew about that, too.

He shifts uncomfortably. Maybe he knew that Rex flirted a bit with the young girls. But it was all harmless. Those parents were just being silly. Besides, Rex was the pack Alpha, and they should have been proud that he was showing their snotty little brats any attention at all. The rumors that he got what he deserved when that lumber fell on him last spring were only that…rumors. No one would have dared to harm Rex. No one would have wanted to; Rex was a hero in these parts—larger than life. He was the Alpha that everyone looked up to.

Wasn’t he?

Pete sighs and puts his cup down, turning off the small light over the stove and heading upstairs to the big bed Lance built for him where Mithian lies sleeping. A man gets lonely when his mate dies, and Mithian’s a willing, warm body. He strips off his clothes and climbs in beside her, scooting up to warm himself against her young, smooth skin. He tries to put all the troubling thoughts out of his head for the time being and just go to sleep.

~~~

Gaius feels good. Really good. He swears since Lance has been giving him massages, ten years have been stripped off his age. Gaius has been walking in the hills every day and continuing his daily baths in the hot springs. He’s also been lifting weights and eating better than he has in years. The other day he actually did a perfect cartwheel in the field. Audrey and Clyde saw him do it and wouldn’t stop clapping their hands and shouting in glee.

He smiles as he changes out of his clothes and into a night shirt, watching out the window as Sigmund strips off shirt and washes under the spigot. Sigmund has broad shoulders for a young lad, with defined muscles in his back that taper down to a narrow waist and hips. Gaius has felt those muscles as Sigmund’s given him friendly hugs now and then. His legs are long and lean.

As he watches Sigmund sluice the water over his naked body, Gaius is extremely surprised to suddenly sport the first erection he’s had in he doesn’t know how long. He stares down at where it tents his night shirt, pointing at the window.

“Gods,” he whispers. “Where have you been?”

Reaching underneath the fabric, Gaius grabs hold of it and gives it a tug, groaning as he does so. His eyes move toward the window again and the young man outside it, now dripping with water, his attractive face in profile.

“You dirty old man,” he thinks, ashamed as he wanks himself. But not ashamed enough to stop. He keeps pulling until he paints the window with his cum, and when Sigmund chooses that moment to turn around, Gaius ducks, pressing himself against the floor.

~~~

Mordred lies with Cenred pressed beneath him, legs spread wide and arse filled with Mordred’s wide cock.

“Mmph,” Cenred grunts into the sheet as Mordred pushes in again, giving his hips a twist.

Mordred thinks he could stay like this all night. “You’re so tight and warm,” he tells his mate, kissing Cenred’s neck. The feelings Cenred sends over their bond are warm and loving. He’s been doing that a lot lately—trying to make up for what happened by flooding their bond with emotion. Mordred likes it. He bites at Cenred’s nape, worrying the skin there before beginning to pump his hips in earnest, listening to his strong alpha come apart beneath him.

Later, lying in one another's arms and catching their breath, the children asleep in the next room, Mordred kisses the soft skin just below Cenred’s armpit, thinking he never knew he could be so happy. He throws a leg up over Cenred’s, getting comfortable for sleep.

Cenred plays with Mordred’s hair, twirling a strand around his forefinger.

“Da!” Joey runs in like a small rocket and hurtles himself onto their bed. He’s recently learned how to climb out of the crib.

“What are you doing up, young man?” Cenred asks, raising his head off the pillow and eying the little, dark-haired boy.

“Bad dweam,” Joey pouts, pushing his way in between his fathers and snuggling up to them. Mordred sighs and looks at Cenred, who shrugs. One or the other of them will put him back to bed after he falls asleep.

Joey lifts a small foot and plays with his toes while he sucks his thumb.

“Go to sleep, little man,” Cenred whispers, pushing the hair out of his son’s eyes. Mordred finds those are the last words he hears before waking to see morning light shining through the window and both Cenred and Joey asleep next to him.


	49. Winter's End

“Good job getting Joey to bed last night,” Cenred says, slipping into the shower behind Mordred and sliding the door shut.

Mordred rinses the shampoo from his hair and face and glares at his alpha. “I didn’t see you getting up and doing it. In fact was your thumb in your mouth, too, this morning? You looked like twins.”

“Ha, ha,” Cenred grabs Mordred by the waist and begins tickling him.

“Stop! Cen…” Mordred tries to wiggle away. Cenred swings him around and pins him to the wall, his rising erection pressing between Mordred’s legs.

Heat, strong and demanding, rises in Mordred’s body. “Ah…gods, take me, Cenred, please,” Mordred gasps. He hadn’t even realized it was coming on. Strong, sweet pheromones rise to the surface of his skin.

Cenred licks and bites at Mordred’s neck, making him squirm back against him.

“Mmm…you’re going into heat,” Cenred says, pressing his nose behind Mordred’s ear. He reaches over and turns off the spray of water. “You smell so good, Mordred…you don’t know. So fucking good." He licks all behind Mordred’s ear and then inside of it. Mordred shivers.

“Cenred, please!” he gasps. “Gods, fill me up!” He pushes his arse back into Cenred, begging.

“In a moment, be patient,” Cenred reaches around and strokes Mordred’s plump, weeping cock then brings his hand to Mordred’s mouth. “Taste your juices. They’re so sweet.”

Mordred obediently sucks the clear cum off Cenred’s fingers, tongue obscenely circling the digits until Cenred moans, and Mordred feels the bulge against his arse lengthen. Cenred removes his fingers from Mordred’s mouth and then they’re at Mordred’s arse, pushing at the opening, gathering fluid there, which he also brings for Mordred to taste. Mordred does, licking greedily while Cenred moans in his ear at the sight.

“So fucking hot, you are,” he says, pushing his alpha cock against Mordred’s arse until it slips in of its own accord and they both gasp at the pleasure. Cenred grabs at Mordred’s hips and fucks into him. Mordred closes his eyes, enjoying the stretch, feeling the length slide against his prostate like a snake moving in the dark, awakening every nerve in his body.

“Yes, yes, yes…” he begins a litany of affirmation.

Mordred’s nearing his first climax, his body sliding up the wall in a delicious wet tease on his cock when he hears the first clamorous demands for breakfast outside the bathroom door.

“Fuck!” Cenred swears, his knot swelling, and Mordred’s suddenly gone, his body speared on the wall, shuddering loose, spilling as his arse grips Cenred’s cock tightly. Mordred squeezes his eyes shut, riding it out.

“Da! Daaaaaa!”

Mordred recognizes Harry’s voice.

“Hungry!” That’s definitely Benny.

“Be there in a minute, boys!” Cenred yells, his knot shifting as he moves to call over his shoulder, and Mordred is overwhelmed by another intense orgasm. Cenred runs his hands over Mordred’s chest, fingers playing over his nipples as his lips find Mordred’s neck, licking and sucking his mating bite, bringing another dribble of cum from his tired cock. He whimpers. Cenred begins to pant, his knot nearing breaking point.

“Feels so good, so big,” Mordred tells him, voice faint and hoarse. “Stretching me out. Gods, you’re so huge inside me.” His heat is strong, making him dizzy with need. He never wants to stop when he’s like this. He could have Cenred inside him forever.

Cenred growls, biting him, opening up his flesh and sucking on the leaking blood. Mordred’s cock pulses yet again, and Cenred begins to pump his hips, the giant knot smashing Mordred’s already flattened prostate.

“Oh, fucking shit, Cenred!” Mordred screams out, overcome, hands scrabbling at the wet shower walls and feet widening their stance on the tiled floors as he juts his arse into his alpha’s surging groin, wanting more. Cenred’s knot breaks, his seed coursing inside of Mordred, and Cenred begins babbling through an intense orgasm, one hand coming round to caress Mordred’s ball sac, the other pinching and pulling a nipple, making Mordred squirm and sob. Somewhere in the background Mordred can hear pots and pans clanging in the kitchen and knows the kids are making a mess, but right now they can blow up the house for all he cares. He clenches his arse around Cenred’s cock.

Cenred slides out of Mordred, swinging him around and falling to his knees, mouth covering Mordred’s dripping fat cock and sucking it greedily. Mordred wails, grasping at Cenred’s hair, squeezing his eyes shut at the wild mixture of pain and pleasure.

When they’re finally satiated, Mordred is covered with love bites and barely able to stand. Cenred grabs his robe and goes to see about the children, telling Mordred to go back to their bed and await the next rise of heat.

Mordred doesn’t argue.

~~~

Lance works on the muscles of Gaius legs while he sits in the hot springs.

“I see a marked improvement since we began the treatments,” Lance tells him.

“Yes,” Gaius agrees. “I feel so much better.”

“I’d say the arthritis is gone,” Lance tells him. “It’s really unbelievable. The massage is working.”

“I’d say it has something more to do with your hands,” Gaius tells him.

“What do you mean?” Lance looks up.

Gaius looks at the omega. “Lance, you must know you have some sort of healing ability. Look at me. While I am still an old man, my body has become younger. I no longer have arthritis, and muscle tone has returned. Not only that, but…” he blushes a little. “Well, I’ve regained an ability I lost a while back.”

Lance just looks at him. “What’s that?”

Gaius huffs. “Do I really need to spell it out for you? An ability some men lose with age. It’s come back.” He looks downward with exaggeration.

“Oh. Oh!” Lance replies. “Well. Well, that’s wonderful! I have noticed you are looking very nice. And have you put something in your hair?”

Gaius blushes again. “A little coloring herb…just bringing back some of its natural color.” The herb takes a little of the grey out. Gaius has been taking extra pains with his appearance lately, and many have been commenting on it.

Lance finishes with the massage and gets out of the water. “I’m going to meet Simon at the river. I’ll see you later, Gaius!”

Gaius thanks him and waves, leaning back. He sighs, reaching down to touch himself. He can’t help it; it’s been a long time since his body has cooperated.

He tries thinking of Miss Alice, a nice woman from the Freemont pack who brought him a pie yesterday, but his mind keeps going back to Sigmund bathing under the spigot. The more Gaius thinks of the handsome lad, the bigger his cock gets. Gaius never mated, although he was in love once, a long time ago, with a man named Aubrey.

Aubrey had been lean and beautiful, and Gauis had loved him dearly. He’d been killed by another wolf from a rival pack during a full moon run. Gauis had never been able to open his heart again after that.

He opens his eyes and looks up into the bare branches over his head, the sun shining between them. Spring would be here soon, a time of love and mating. He grasps his cock harder. He isn’t so old yet. Perhaps he should make a move on Miss Alice. He closes his eyes, his hand moving up and down rhythmically.

But there’s no harm in a fantasy just to get a man off.

His thoughts wander back to Sigmund.


	50. Heat's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of the omegas are at the end of their heat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry no update last night. I was so tired!

Gaius is surprised to find Lance with Sigmund in Gaius’s small house later that night, helping him to massage Silas’s leg.

“Sigmund is eager to learn how to massage,” Lance tells Gaius, and Gaius smiles at his young protégé, receiving a brilliant grin in return. Sigmund goes back to working on Silas’s leg.

“How does it feel, Silas?”

“Wonderful,” the large alpha sighs. “I’ve had pain in this leg ever since I got into a fight with a rogue wolf years ago, but right now I can’t even tell it!”

Gaius nods, looking the man over. Silas is approaching fifty-years-old but has never taken a mate. He’s a well-built man, even more striking in his wolf form with a thick, amber coat. Gaius feels his cock hardening and inwardly shakes himself, wondering what the hell Is wrong with him lately that he’s feeling like a teenager again.  

“Sigmund must have the talent that Lance has,” he says pleasantly and looks around.

”Did Alice leave this casserole?” he asks, indicating the large dish on the counter.

“I don’t know; it was here when I arrived,” Lance tells him, but Sigmund turns around and nods enthusiastically before rubbing his stomach. Gaius laughs.

Suddenly, Silas sits up, head tilted in the air. Lance stiffens.

“What…”

Before Gaius can say anything else, Lance stumbles up from where he was sitting and backs toward the door. “I need to get home. I’ll see you later.” And he’s gone.

“What was that about?” Gaius asks. Sigmund looks equally confused.

Silas shifts in his seat. “He was in heat. I didn’t detect it until that moment.”

Gaius looks toward the door. “Really?” he shakes his head. “There are some herbs that will disguise it for a time. It’s dangerous for him to be out and about like that, though. I wonder that Simon allows it.”

“I would never allow it of my omega, that is certain,” Silas replies, getting up from his chair.

“Silas, would you like to eat with us?” Gaius asks.

The alpha nods. “That sounds terrific, thanks. I don’t think Egan’s going to be cooking anything tonight. He’s been seeing one of the Freemont omegas. I’ll probably find myself without a housemate soon.” He sighs.

“Ever thought of finding yourself a mate, Silas?’ Gaius asks, serving the plates of chicken casserole as the three men gather at the table. “You’ve been single a long time.”

“I’ve thought about it sometimes, yes, I’ll admit. But no one’s ever really struck my fancy, to be honest. Now there are a lot of alphas younger than I am vying for a mate.”

“You’re only as old as you feel,” Gaius points out. “I have to say, these massages have been making me feel younger and younger.”

“At first when Sigmund here tried it, I didn’t feel much,” Silas admits. “But then Lance guided the lad’s hands, and it was as though a warmth spread throughout my leg.” Silas stretches the offending limb out before him. “Now it’s more limber than it’s been in years.” He smiles at Sigmund, who smiles back and nods.

“I don’t know what it is,” Gaius muses, “but Lance said he never had this ability before the Father Wolf spoke to him and turned him from beta to omega.” He shakes his head. “I have no idea what it all means.”

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, I always say,” Silas replies around a bite of food.

After a few moments of companionable silence while they eat, the conversation turns to Pete.

“I think I’ll go by and check on him on the way home,” Silas says. “He’s been acting funny lately. Ever since Mitzi passed. He’s taken up with that girl that’s been cleaning house for him.”

“Mithian,” Gaius nods. “Some men just can’t be alone.”

“That’s true. But he’s had a falling out with Cenred, and he’s moping. I’m going to see if he needs anything.” Silas wipes his mouth and stands. “Thanks for the good food, Gaius. And the massage, Sigmund. I’ll be back soon for another.” He takes his plate to the sink and rinses it off before going.

Gaius watches him leave. “He’s a handsome alpha,” Gaius comments. “He’s not too old to have an omega interested in him. Perhaps I’ll speak to Arthur about it.”

Sigmund tilts his head, his tawny eyes watching Gaius. He stands and picks up their plates, taking them to the sink.

Gaius fetches a book and spends the evening reading aloud by the fire, Sigmund lying on the rug listening. When he falls asleep there, Gaius covers him with a blanket.

~~~

Merlin naps on the sofa with Ella tucked under one arm and Em nestled under the other. Collum has the other children in the nursery, building a town out of blocks. Merlin’s so tired with this pregnancy; he wants to sleep most of the afternoons away. His belly is already rounded, and he can only hope that he doesn’t have six pups in there again. Will comes to see him, bringing his pups to play with Merlin’s. Higgy and Hunith get along particularly well, and they run off hand in hand to find the plastic tea set they love so much.

“That skanky Ros is out there hanging around your man,” Will informs Merlin, taking a seat on the end of the couch.

“What?” Merlin asks, face showing his displeasure, but body unable to move without waking up the children. “Explain, Will.”

Will grins. “Arthur is up under one of the machines, and Ros is hanging around, handing him tools. It’s pretty sickening. But don’t worry—I sent Leon over there to chaperone. He’ll keep Ros off Arthur.”

Merlin scowls. “I don’t like Ros,” he says through gritted teeth. “He needs a mate…yesterday.”

Will taps his finger to his chin thoughtfully. “Hm. What about Uallus?”

“Not ugly enough. Even with those creepy eyes.”

Will laughs. “What difference does it make? Once Ros has an alpha to keep him under control, he’s away from your man. That’s all you should care about. But there’s also Egan…and Silas. And dear Agravaine.” Will leans closer. “I’ve heard Lance and Simon hooked him to something that makes him dance when he misbehaves.”

Merlin frowns. “What are you on about, Will? Dance?”

Will tells him.

“What? That’s…what?” Merlin can’t believe what he’s hearing. He can’t help but wiggle uncomfortably at the very thought.

“It worked, didn’t it? I don’t think they plan on using it again unless they have to.” Will turns to see what Asher is doing on the floor behind him, and takes away the vacuum attachment, substituting a colorful plastic toy before saying, “Ewan’s told me that Aggy’s taken up with Brionna again in her dungeon. Ronan’s become their eager third.”

Merlin thinks about the beefy alpha that he’d seen indiscriminately fucking omegas at the Samhain bonfire and wrinkles his nose in distaste. “I suppose what they do in the privacy of their own…dungeon… is their business,” he says quietly, pressing a kiss to Ella’s head as she whimpers in her sleep. “Go check out the door to see if Ros is still hanging about Arthur.”

Will does. He laughs. “Looks like Leon’s put him to work shoveling manure, bless him.”

Merlin grins. “I’ve always loved Leon.”

Will gets a look on his face that Merlin knows well—it’s that ‘end of heat’ look, when pheromones are still beneath the surface, rising at unsuspecting moments and taking you by surprise, making you want your alpha and want him _now._ Merlin’s own heat isn't quite over and could rise at any time.

And suddenly Leon is there, having scented Will from the doorway. He growls.

“Not in front of the children!” Merlin admonishes. “Not to mention me,” he adds as Will and Leon tumble into the nearest closet, shutting the door behind them.

Asher toddles that way, reaching for the door knob.

“No, no, baby, come here,” Merlin calls to him, and Asher looks at him with Will’s wide, brown, questioning eyes.

Leon’s gruff growl of domination can clearly be heard from the closet, and Asher’s head swings back that way.

“Come here, Asher,” Merlin tells him a little more strongly, happy to see that Em and Ella are now stirring and he can set them on the sofa and sit upright.

Asher’s bottom lip juts out, but he obeys, climbing up on to the couch beside Merlin’s two.

Will’s curses are muted, but passionate enough to make Merlin miss Arthur. He leans over and switches on some music to cover the noise. He’s relieved when Arthur appears at the open door.

“Has anyone made any lunch?” he asks, sweat pouring down his face, despite the cold.

“Sorry,” Merlin grimaces, “we’ve been a bit occupied. But there’s plenty of stuff for sandwiches.”

“I miss Mitzi,” Arthur grumbles. Indeed, since the older woman died, no one makes lunch at the main house anymore. Merlin thinks he will have to organize something before the spring work on the ranch begins. “Did I see Leon come in here?” Arthur asks, looking around.

Rhythmic thumping begins in the closet, and Merlin’s eyes slide that way.

“Daddy!” Asher points to the closet. “Alpha, in there!”

“Ah,” Arthur nods. “I see.” He sighs and heads for the kitchen.

“Da, wait!” Em rolls onto his stomach and slides off the couch, his preferred method of getting down after his fall the week before when he attempted the more adult method, and runs after his father. Merlin picks Ella up and heads into the nursery to change her nappy.

“Merlin, do you mind if I have the night off?” Collum asks as he helps Merlin straighten up the room after the kids are changed.

“Of course I don’t mind,” Merlin looks at him, surprised. “You never have a night off. Something special?”

“Actually, yeah. You know Sigmund? I’ve asked him to go into town with me. See a movie.”

“That sounds like fun,” Merlin replies, thinking that it’s about time Collum starts seeing somebody.

Will and Leon appear, a bit sweaty and bedraggled, and they get their children together. Collum takes care of feeding the Pendragon brood, and Merlin joins Arthur to have a sandwich.

Merlin can tell Arthur’s sensing Merlin’s pheromones, the way Arthur's head keeps moving Merlin’s way. Merlin scoots his chair so that he sits very close to Arthur as they eat. He leans in and licks some mustard from the corner of Arthur’s mouth, smelling the dried sweat on him and immediately getting hard.

Arthur catches Merlin’s mouth with his own, pushing his tongue inside. Merlin tilts his head, turning his body to drape a leg over Arthur’s lap. He can hear the children laughing in the nursery. Arthur’s questing fingers find the bulge in Merlin’s trousers and tease it, bringing whimpers from Merlin’s lips. He crawls onto Arthur’s lap, straddling him, pushing into him while undoing the zip of Arthur’s pants and bringing out the prize within.

The skin of Arthur’s cock is hot and inviting. Merlin drags his mouth away from Arthur’s, pausing at his neck to nibble at his mating bite, smiling when he feels the subsequent dribble of pre-cum spill onto his fingers. Arthur gasps and then growls, pushing up into Merlin’s hands and calling him a tease. Merlin slides down, disappearing below the table, pulling at Arthur’s trousers until he has them around his ankles.

It’s dark under there, and Merlin nestles between Arthur’s legs, kissing up his inner thighs, licking at the soft skin there until he has his nose buried beneath Arthur’s ball sac. Arthur slides down a bit, groaning as Merlin takes the soft bundle into his mouth, balancing it on his tongue.

“Gods, Merlin…”

Merlin takes his time, sucking it, letting saliva collect in his mouth before he lifts his head and laps at the knot at the base of the enormous shaft. Arthur swears thickly, hands gripping the table edge.

Merlin is lost in what he’s doing; he loves giving Arthur head so much he can forget his need to be filled. He moves and takes Arthur’s cock into his mouth—as much of it as he can fit, anyway, sucking and licking wetly. In the background, he hears the children in the nursery and Collum talking to them, closer are sounds of wet slurping and Arthur's moans. A brief knock on the front door and a voice bring Merlin's eyes wide open.

“Alpha? Are you coming back to the tractor? I found the tool you were looking for.”

Merlin feels Arthur’s start of surprise. Ros. He does not take Arthur out of his mouth. In fact, in spite of Arthur’s slight nudge to his head, Merlin increases suction.

“Er..be…I’ll be right there,” Arthur breathes, hips jutting, pushing his cock farther into Merlin’s hot mouth. Merlin smiles around him.  _Ros._

“Is something wrong, Alpha?” Ros asks, all concern.

Merlin gets the distinct impression that Ros has come farther into the room. Merlin twists his wet hand about the base of Arthur’s cock, bobbing his head furiously.

Arthur makes a noise much like a newborn kitten, and Merlin thumbs at the ball sac tightening beneath the growing knot.

“Are you choking?” the idiot asks.

“No…” Arthur breathes, “no…”

Merlin gives the head of Arthur’s cock a good suck, hears Arthur make a certain sound and knows he’s throwing his head back and closing his eyes. Merlin takes his mouth off long enough to lick a long stripe from balls to tip before taking it all in again as much as possible, gagging a bit while doing so. Arthur shouts, very loudly, sending pulses of cum down Merlin’s throat. Merlin swallows greedily and licks Arthur clean while Arthur jerks like a puppet before crawling out from under the table to find Ros standing there with his mouth hanging open and Arthur looking like he’s just survived a hurricane.

Merlin smacks his lips. “Hello, Ros, would you like a sandwich?”

Ros shakes his head and backs up. “No. I’ll be going.” He turns and hurries out the door.

“You’re evil,” Arthur breathes, lifting his head listlessly from the back of the chair, eyes fond. Merlin laughs. 


	51. Inspection Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this leaves off rather abruptly.

Another inspection brings humans to the ranch, and Arthur makes Merlin stay well away from them. He is always protective of Merlin around humans, but he’s even more so when Merlin’s carrying pups. The fact that there are so many unfamiliar alphas around from the newly merged Freemont pack has Arthur edgy, and Merlin finds himself surrounded by omegas. Mordred sits on the bench outside the omega den and excitedly tells Merlin that he’s expecting pups.

“That’s brilliant” Merlin smiles, genuinely pleased. He enjoyed being pregnant at the same time as Mordred with their last litters. “Now it’s you, me, and Lance.”

Lance is showing, and therefore currently hiding in the omega den so the humans won’t see him. Merlin’s bump isn’t very noticeable and can easily be hidden by his shirt.

Mordred leans his head on Merlin’s shoulder, watching the humans strut about, inspecting cattle and machinery. “They think we’re all members of some weird cult,” he tells Merlin, a smile in his voice. “Marrying each other and rarely leaving the ranch.”

“I’m sure we appear very odd to them,” Merlin agrees.

Will, sitting on Merlin’s other side, stretches his legs out. The sun is strong and feels good shining down upon them. It’s the first warm day they’ve had that winter.

“Have you seen Gaius? I swear the man is getting younger!”

“Will, that isn’t possible,” Merlin tells him. “Arthur’s said the same thing. I told him it’s because Gaius no longer has the crippling arthritis. He’s standing up straighter.”

“It’s not just that,” Will argues. “His jowls are disappearing. I’m telling you, the man is getting younger!”

Merlin shakes his head. Just then, Gaius comes out of the main house carrying a basket. He nods to the omegas, smiling broadly.

“Gods, his teeth even look younger!” Will states.

Merlin stares after Gaius, unable to believe his eyes. “How can this be?”

“How can what be?” Lance peeks out of the door. “Why do I have to sit in here alone? Come inside!”

The three get up and enter the house, instantly met by the delicious smell of a spicy tea. Lance pours them each a cup.

“Gaius is getting younger,” Mordred tells him. “How are you doing it?”

Lance looks up, almost spilling the tea. “What makes you think _I’m_ doing it?”

“All the massages,” Merlin says. “It’s got to be that, or the hot springs.”

Lance shrugs. “Couldn’t it be Alice’s casseroles? Okay, I don’t know.” He sighs. “I’ve given it a lot of thought…this healing stuff, and my visions. It’s got to be all connected to me becoming an omega. The Father Wolf gave me these abilities, only I have no idea why. And I don’t know why Gaius is getting younger.” He sits down. “I don’t know anything, really.” He rubs his head.

“What visions are you having?” Mordred asks.

“Not any lately,” Lance replies. He looks at Merlin. “Didn’t you say the Father Wolf gave you dreams?”

“For a while,” Merlin admits. “But I haven’t had anymore, and I’m glad. And it was only the one dream, and it scared the shit out of me. I’ve almost written it off to my fears about Declan.”

Muted music begins in another room.

“A couple of omegas are in there from the former Freemont pack,” Lance tells them. “I don’t know their names.”

“I really need to get on that…” Merlin muses. “As pack Vixen, it’s my responsibility to know all the omegas. I’m just so fucking tired right now.”

“Take a nap,” Mordred urges, and Merlin thinks that sounds like a wonderful idea. He lies down on one of the comfortable couches in the dimly lit room and soon falls asleep, the soft drone of his friends’ conversation drifting in and out of his dreams.

When he awakens, Mordred is curled around him, snoring. Merlin blinks several times, still half asleep. He sees Erynn and Nim resting on a nest of pillows in front of the fireplace. Erynn’s mate, Trevor, has been trying to get her with pups, but she still isn’t pregnant. It’s been a source of upset in their relationship, and Merlin sees that she’s been crying about it again.

“Does he hurt you?” Nim asks her sister, voice angry.

“No,” Erynn shakes her head. “But I can see that he moves farther away from me emotionally every time one of my heats passes and I don’t get pregnant. Oh, Nim! What am I going to do?”

The room is dark, the only light coming from the small fire in the grate. Merlin doesn’t know where Lance and Will went, but they’re not in the room. Nim and Erynn speak in low voices.

“What do you mean?” Nim asks. “What can you do, but keep trying?”

“He’ll take on another mate. I don’t want him to do that!”

Nim sighs. “We don’t know if the problem lies with you or him. Perhaps you should see Gaius.”

“And what if he says I’m fine?” Erynn asks.

“Perhaps we can think of a way,” Nim replies.

Merlin doesn’t like the sound of that, but he feigns sleep, unwilling to let Nim know he heard what she said.

When the two get up and leave the room, Merlin unwinds himself from Mordred and goes outside where the brightness of the day is blinding after the dimness of the omega den.

It appears that the inspection is over, and Merlin walks toward the main house. Someone falls into step beside him, and Merlin looks over to find it's Egan, one of the young alphas originally from the Hobart pack.

“Hello, Vixen,” Egan says pleasantly. Merlin smiles and nods at him, slightly uncomfortable in the presence of an alpha with no one else around. Egan is a nice enough fellow, although a little on the bold side. Merlin’s seen him with a girl from the Freemont pack a lot lately, and the rumor is that they will mate. He tries making conversation.

“Egan, what’s the girl’s name you’ve taken an interest in? I don’t know all the new omegas yet.”

“Her name is Barbara,” Egan supplies, his arm brushing up against Merlin’s. Merlin instantly steps to the side, out of reach of the other man. Egan seems to walk taller, and Merlin’s body naturally wants to submit to the alpha---to be smaller. He looks around and finds a bench to sit on. Egan stops, turning to look down at Merlin, hands pushed deep into the pockets of his trousers.

“She’s a nice girl,” Egan says. “I plan to mate with her.” There's nothing untoward in what he's saying to Merlin, yet Merlin continues to get a vibe that makes him cower.

“That’s good,” Merlin tells Egan, clearing his throat and trying to speak more strongly before continuing. “Silas will need a new roommate, then.” Again, Egan’s proximity makes Merlin uncomfortable. He’s standing too close, boxing Merlin in to where he can’t easily rise from the bench without touching Egan in some way.

“Silas should find a mate himself,” Egan replies, voice pleasant but stance screaming dominance, feet planted wide, shoulders back, head up.

Merlin closes his eyes, concentrating hard on his extreme feelings of discomfort. He doesn’t know what Egan’s about, but it’s disconcerting. No one is around—everyone’s probably at home eating lunch. Merlin had been going to see if Arthur was at the main house with Pete, as he’d said he might be after the inspection. He fervently wishes Arthur would appear right now or that Egan would go away. He bows his head, the alpha towering over him making him curl into himself.


	52. Enraged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't mess with a man's omega.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cleaned up the last two chapters a bit so they read better.
> 
> Love the comments--you guys are the best. <3
> 
> Again, this ends a bit abruptly, as it's all I have time for this morning. Have a good day!

Arthur doesn’t quite understand how he got into this situation. One minute he was talking to Pete behind the main house about the early onset of spring, and the next he’s sitting inside at the table eating watercress and cream cheese sandwiches with Ros.

“Those muscles in your forearms make me weak,” Ros tells him, and Arthur wonders what he’s supposed to say to that. He takes another large bite of sandwich. Ros passes him the plate. “You have such a healthy appetite!” He flutters his eyelashes over limpid blue eyes. Not the clear, deep blue of Merlin’s eyes…that Arthur gets lost in on a regular basis. He thinks of Merlin and how good he smells, especially in the mornings. And especially now he’s with pups.

Something about his omega, pregnant, and all sleep-ruffled in the morning, smelling of pregnancy pheromones and Arthur’s dried cum really rocks Arthur’s boat. He takes a deep breath, cock hardening in his pants, and glances at Ros, realizing too late that the omega can sense his arousal. Ros’s eyes are pinned to Arthur’s lips, expression hungry. Arthur puts down his sandwich.

“I’d better get home,” he says, standing up, unintentionally revealing the hard-on stretching the front of his trousers. He looks down and then sits again.

Thankfully at that moment Pete walks in, and Arthur silently blesses the old man. “Pete, sit down with us!”

Pete starts to demure, but Arthur insists, giving the request his Alpha tone. Pete sits, and Arthur begins talking about the cattle while Ros pouts. Mithian appears, narrowing her eyes at the sight of Arthur at her table. She’s recently mated to Pete, and now considers herself something special as the mistress of the main house. She sits beside Pete and alternates between sending Arthur unwelcoming glares and leaning seductively on Pete’s arm. The lunch drags on far longer than Arthur intends, and when Pete finally stands, saying he has to get out to his garden, Arthur finds he has a headache.

At least he’s no longer hard. He gets up from the table, Ros scrambling up after him.

“Thanks for the sandwiches,” Arthur tells him, striding from the room and quickly exiting the house before Ros can waylay him further. Outside, he takes several deep breaths of air. When Arthur’s eyes land on Merlin sitting on a bench several feet away, his first reaction is one of pleasure to see his omega, and he takes an eager step forward. Then his instincts kick in, his bond sending him signals of Merlin’s discomfort. He sees Merlin’s submissive posture and the alpha hovering over him, too close for Arthur’s liking.

He growls low in his throat, then louder, starting forward. He knows the moment Egan simultaneously hears Arthur’s growl and senses him nearby, because the man stiffens and steps away from Merlin. At the same time, Merlin visibly relaxes and Arthur’s side of their bond signals extreme relief and love from his mate.

Arthur’s enraged at the daring of this alpha, and he continues to growl, all the hair on his body standing, shoulders raised, nostrils flaring, lips curling to bare white teeth. Outrage at finding Egan standing so close to Arthur’s unguarded omega…his unguarded _pregnant_ omega…makes Arthur want to attack. _To kill_.

Egan’s posture is now submissive. He hangs his head, stepping farther away from Merlin, who jumps to his feet and runs to Arthur, baring his neck to him.

Arthur licks Merlin’s neck with a slow swipe of his tongue, then makes a show of sniffing Merlin all over, eyes never leaving Egan for a moment, making sure there is no trace of Egan’s scent on his omega before pushing Merlin behind him, and continuing to growl at Egan, eyes glowing yellow.

Gwaine appears from his doorway.

“Alpha?” he inquires, taking in the scene.

Arthur’s too far gone in his rage to reply. His chest puffs out, growls becoming more pronounced, reverberating throughout the courtyard.

“Egan?” Gwaine asks the other alpha, alarmed.

“I was talking to Merlin…standing a bit too close…” Egan answers, stepping toward Gwaine and trying to hide behind him.

“What, are you crazy?” Gwaine asks, incredulous. “Do you have a death wish, man?” He moves away from Egan.

A crowd begins to gather, including Ros, whose eyes are large and afraid.

“It’s his fault!” Egan points to Ros. “He convinced me to do it! Promised to blow me later if I kept Merlin busy. He wanted time alone with the Alpha!”

“You’re an idiot,” Gwaine tells Egan as Arthur continues to growl, eyes never leaving Egan’s face, veins popping out on his neck, lungs heaving great breaths of air. Merlin has buried his face in between Arthur’s shoulder blades, and he’s trembling in the face of his alpha’s anger, although he knows it’s not directed at him.

The sight of the enraged Alpha defending his Vixen has an effect on all the alpha/omega mates in the pack. The omegas immediately submit, and their alphas become protective, gathering them close. Will, who had been in the middle of chewing Leon a new one about something, quickly bares his neck, and Leon bites it with a growl, drawing blood. Nim attaches herself to Gwaine’s side, Cenred pulls Mordred as close to him as humanly possible, Mordred tucking his face into Cenred’s neck. Simon wraps his arms around Lance and holds tight, his mouth pressed to Lance’s mating bite while he watches the scene before him.

Everyone waits to see what the Alpha will do.


	53. Trouble Over, Things Settle

 

 

“Alpha…Arthur,” Gwaine tries again to intervene. “Stop!” His eyes go to Merlin, barely visible behind Arthur’s back. “Merlin, did Egan touch you?”

Arthur’s next growl turns into a bark at Gwaine, presumably for daring to address Merlin, and Gwaine backs down.

Merlin doesn’t say anything, the tension too high. He’s caught up in his alpha’s control, every instinct he has telling him to submit, just as every instinct Arthur has tells him to protect. It’s an age-old behavior pattern that’s ingrained in their psyches, and both are too far gone in the moment to be able to break it or know enough to even try.

Egan has backed himself into a corner, and he shakes with real fear, realizing what a colossal mistake he’s made. Phineas comes out of the house and moves to stand with Gwaine and Nim, Gwaine dragging him to his other side where he can keep a grip on him.

“Percy,” Gwaine says to the big man that stands to his right, arm firmly around Donald’s waist, “we have to stop this before it escalates. I’ll take our omegas inside my house, then we’ll grab Egan and get him out of Arthur’s sight.”

Arthur continues with the low growls and snarls, yellow eyes never leaving Egan, almost as though he’s in a trance.

“I’m sorry,” Ros says from the side. “I didn’t mean to start this!” He looks over at the alpha cowering by Gwaine’s door. “I’m sorry, Egan!”

In a split second, Arthur makes a lunge for Egan, roaring as he does so. Merlin falls backward onto the grass, and Will moves to help him up just as Leon makes a dash for Arthur.

Too late to move the omegas inside, Gwaine pushes Egan through the door instead, slamming it behind him. He and Percy then throw themselves in Arthur’s path, pushing him back, but he’s like a human freight train, driving their bodies with incredible force until Leon and Cenred reach Arthur. All four alphas manage to drag Arthur off to the side and pin him to the ground, where he snarls and shouts his displeasure for five solid minutes until Merlin makes his way over to him.

“It’s all right,” Merlin tells him softly, nuzzling his neck, “he didn’t touch me, Arthur.”

Arthur quiets a bit and stops fighting so hard. Leon moves to the side, allowing Merlin more access to his mate.

“He only intimidated me by the way he stood over me,” Merlin continues. Arthur frowns, breathing hard.

“He had no right…”

“I know, and you saved me,” Merlin smiles, kissing Arthur’s jaw.

Arthur huffs. “Kindly give me back my hand, Gwaine,” he tells his second, and Gwaine lets go so that Arthur can stroke Merlin’s cheek. Slowly the alphas back off, leaving the two to have their moment.

“Holy shit,” Cenred comments to Mordred when he returns to him, “remind me never to get on Arthur’s bad side!”

“That Egan’s an idiot to have done such a thing,” Mordred shakes his head. “He deserved the fright of his life.” He watches Merlin and Arthur cuddle in the grass. “He’s lucky Arthur didn’t tear him to shreds.”

Cenred nods. “Arthur was past the point of controlling himself.” He looks over to Ros, who stands sniveling in a corner. “If there’s ever an omega who needs mating, it’s that one.”

“I agree, but you can just stop looking,” Mordred replies hotly. Cenred raises a brow.

“Jealous, are you? You know very well I don’t desire another mate.”

“Well, let’s just keep it that way. Come on, we need to get the kids from Gilli and Daegal. They’re probably wondering what all the commotion was about.” They head that way.

When Leon returns from managing Arthur, Will buries his face in Leon’s chest and Leon runs his fingers through the omega’s hair.

“Weren’t you in the middle of telling me off before all this happened?” he asks.

Will nods. “I don’t feel like it much now, though,” he says into Leon’s shirt, tightening his grip around the alpha’s waist.

Leon kisses Will’s head. “That was pretty scary. Maybe now you appreciate me more.”

Will looks up at him. “Maybe, though I don’t know why, you big dope.” He kisses him. “Mmm…you taste like berries.” He licks Leon’s beard, sucking at the ginger hairs nearest his mouth. He looks over at Ros, surprised to see Uallus talking to him. The big man puts an arm around Ros’s shoulders, and Will elbows Leon in the ribs.

“Ouch! What was that for?” Leon asks.

“Get a load of that!” Will answers.

“What? Oh…well, what do you know. He’s weird looking, but I guess he’ll do.”

“Merlin would love it if Ros finds a mate and leaves Arthur alone,” Will replies.

“Well, maybe it will happen,” Leon states. “Come on, let’s head home.”

Arthur and Merlin get up off the ground, exhausted by what they’ve been through.

“Let’s go home,” Arthur says. “I’m not in the mood to work anymore on the ranch today.” He puts his arm around Merlin and they head for their house. “I hope Collum’s cooking something for dinner. All I had for lunch was watercress and cream cheese sandwiches.”

Merlin licks his lips. “That sounds good, actually; I haven’t even eaten.”

Arthur looks shocked. “We can’t have that! You’re carrying our pups!” He scoops Merlin up in his arms and carries him, Merlin laughing the rest of the way home.

When they push the door open, they don’t expect to find Collum and Sigmund making out on the couch, but that’s what greets them.

The two young men separate as though electrocuted.

“Oh!” Collum cries, tumbling onto the floor. “Oh, uh…the children are napping. I didn’t expect you home!”

“Obviously,” Arthur replies, setting Merlin down and crossing his arms over his chest.

“We were just…um.”

“We could see what you were doing,” Arthur tells him.

“Arthur,” Merlin smacks his mate on the arm. “Stop making Collum uncomfortable. He’s listened to us bang the bed against the wall enough times. They were only kissing.”

Sigmund stands up, expression sheepish. He waves to Merlin and Arthur and heads for the door. Collum scrambles up and stops him, kissing him firmly again on the mouth before seeing him out.

“I think they’re cute together,” Merlin tells Arthur.

“I guess so,” Arthur replies, taking Merlin by the hand and leading him into the kitchen. “You need to eat.” He begins collecting food from the refrigerator and putting it on a plate while Merlin watches.

“This is an interesting variety,” Merlin comments, staring down at the pickle, crackers, cheese, olives, yogurt, and carrots that Arthur has gathered.

“Eat up,” Arthur tells him.

While Merlin eats, Arthur makes tea.

“So what was Ros doing while Egan stared me down?” Merlin asks, poking olives into his mouth.

“Just feeding me tiny sandwiches that didn’t fill me up properly,” Arthur replies, finding a piece of turkey and biting into it before giving the rest to Merlin.

“Is that all?” Merlin asks, eyes narrowing. “And I hope you don’t mean _literally_ feeding you.”

Arthur laughs. “No, I was feeding myself. He just made the things. And I managed to get Pete and Mithian to sit down with us. I’m only sorry I wasn’t paying more attention to our mating bond, or I might have realized you needed me sooner.”

“I wasn’t out there long,” Merlin replies.

“Any time is too long,” Arthur tells him, blue eyes sincere. Merlin feels his heart melting. “Smooth talker,” he accuses, and Arthur smiles his best, sultry smile. The one that makes Merlin’s toes curl and dick harden.

The sound of a toy being thrown against the wall heralds the awakening of one of the babies.

“Up, up! Col-num!” Artie’s voice sounds clearly through the door. “Hey, Em! Up! Up!”

A moment later, a chorus of “Col-num, Col-num!” can be heard.

“You stay and eat,” Arthur tells Merlin. “I’ll go. Collum must be outside making out with his boyfriend.” He winks and sets off for the nursery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the name of the chapter because I really couldn't decide if Gwaine diverted the trouble or averted it. I guess he really averted it...unless the trouble will pop up again elsewhere, which actually it might. Idk, but I got tired of thinking about it so just changed it entirely. The English language gives me a headache.


	54. Domesticity

“Da!” Artie screeches and Merlin smiles around his bite of cheese at the squeals and giggles coming from the nursery. He hurries to finish his lunch and places the plate in the sink, peaking out the window to see if he sees Collum. Sure enough, the lad has Sigmund pinned against the side of the house, snogging the boy relentlessly.

Merlin joins Arthur in the nursery and begins changing nappies. A couple of them are too foul for words.

“What do we feed these children, anyway?” he asks, nose wrinkled in disgust and feeling like he may lose the lunch he just ate. Merlin doesn’t really suffer from morning sickness, but his stomach is weaker than normal.

Arthur chuckles. “I think I see corn,” he observes, and Merlin makes a gagging noise. Arthur gives his pregnant mate an apologetic look. “Here, let me take over that one. You take Ella and Hunith into the living room where the air is clear.”

“You’re a prince,” Merlin tells him with a fond smile.

Once in the living room surrounded by coloring books and crayons, Merlin looks up when Collum comes in the front door.

“Oh…sorry,” Collum’s expression is sheepish when he sees the kids are up and changed. “I didn’t realize I was outside for so long.”

“It’s okay,” Merlin tells him. “You’re allowed a little fun. Sigmund’s cute, isn’t he?”

Collum blushes and sits down beside Hunith, helping her sharpen her red crayon. “Very. It was kind of weird at first, because he can’t talk, but I’m used to it now. He kind of has his own sign language, and I’m picking up on it.”

Arthur appears with four babies in tow. Em and Artie are carrying a giant bear between them.

“Hunting,” Artie announces.

“I see that,” Merlin states proudly. “My big boys-- So adventurous.”

“Me kill it!” Em announces, stomping on the stuffed bear’s face.

“Young warrior wolf,” Arthur ruffles Em’s hair and Em makes a fierce growling face. All three men pretend to be afraid, and Artie and Em dissolve into giggles. The girls ignore them for their coloring books.

As it gets later, Collum goes to make dinner. Leon and Will come by, and all the children run off to the nursery, Audrey and Clyde leading them.

“The new house has a nursery double this size,” Arthur tells them.

“Good thing,” Leon says, “but we’ll miss having you so close.”

“It’s hardly far away,” Merlin tells him. “We’re going to change the fencing so no one has to walk along the road.”

Leon nods, brushing his hand over Will’s arm as his omega leans into him. Leon licks his lips. “That was frightening business today.”

Merlin looks away, not particularly ready to discuss this, but not blaming Leon for his uneasiness over the whole thing. Arthur’s reaction had been pure instinct and his right as an alpha. As for Merlin, he’s a little surprised at the lingering discomfort he’s suffering over what happened. Even though Egan never laid a finger on him and the whole thing was a lot less harrowing than the Declan ordeal, it’s made Merlin feel equally vulnerable and afraid. Like Will, he finds himself clinging to his alpha. The entire atmosphere had been rife with pheromones…testosterone crackling in the air, and Merlin still feels a strong need to submit.

Arthur’s jaw tightens at Leon’s words. “I imagine it was. All of your quick thinking saved Egan’s life, as I have no doubt I would have killed him.”

Leon nods. “It would be best to get Ros mated. Egan was a pawn in his designs to get you alone. Omegas like that need a strong alpha to keep them in line.”

Arthur looks at him. “Do you have a suggestion?”

“Trevor, perhaps. Or Ronan. Maybe Brionna.”

Arthur nods. “I’ll think on it.”

Talk turns to other matters, and by the time Leon and Will leave, it’s late, and Leon has to carry Vick because he’s fallen asleep. Clyde and Audrey help lead the others out, and Will lingers to give Merlin a hug.

“I know that arse scared you today. Chin up,” Will whispers into Merlin’s ear. “Let Arthur fuck you hard tonight; it’ll make you feel better.”

Merlin laughs and waves Will off, but as he and Arthur get ready for bed, he thinks that’s exactly what he needs. His body wants to submit to his strong alpha. He’d been alone and at the mercy of Egan until Arthur appeared and drove the danger away. Merlin’s cock stands at attention at the very memory.

“Arthur,” he whimpers breathily, showing him his neck, and Arthur steps out of his pants, coming toward Merlin with a growl, broad chest pushing Merlin toward the bed as Arthur’s tongue and teeth meet sensitive skin and sharp canines sink in, drawing blood.

Merlin gasps, hips surging up. “Gods…Arthur, fuck me…please!” he begs, fingers scrambling at the small of Arthur’s back, skin there so hot and inviting, Merlin slides his hands downward, seeking the two globes of flesh beneath and squeezing.

Arthur sucks and worries at Merlin’s mating bite, thoroughly reclaiming him, hands tight in Merlin’s hair as Merlin spreads his knees wide, panting hungrily and jutting his groin upward in needy invitation. Arthur then crooks his arms under Merlin’s legs, curling him inward, seeking Merlin's mouth for a kiss at the same time as Arthur’s cock zeroes in on its target. Merlin gasps into Arthur’s mouth at the welcomed intrusion, his “Yessss” of pleasure getting lost in the duel of their tongues.

Now that his body is joined with his alpha, Merlin feels complete again.

~~~

“What you did today was idiotic,” Eve tells Ros as she watches him pace back and forth across the floor of the small house they share. “Egan could have been killed, and it would have been all your fault.”

“You don’t understand,” Ros whines. “Arthur Pendragon is perfect!”

“Oh, I understand, all right,” Eve says, shaking out her blonde hair before beginning to brush it. “But I also understand that he’s taken, which you can’t seem to get through that thick skull of yours.”

“It’s ridiculous,” Ros pouts. “He’s an Alpha, and he can have as many omegas as he wants without anyone saying anything about it. Yet he insists on just having Merlin.”

“They’re true-mates,” Eve reminds him. “There are plenty of other eligible alphas in the pack. I’ve set my sights on Egan, and I didn’t particularly like seeing him almost mauled by the Alpha today.”

“So what if they’re true-mates?” Ros asks. “Gwaine and Nim are true-mates, yet Gwaine took Phineas, even when he also had Sophia. It doesn’t make sense. I think Merlin insists that it be this way. If Arthur just had a taste of me, he’d change his mind.”

“No, Ros,” Eve says firmly, putting down her brush. “Tell me you aren’t planning something else.”

“Just one more thing,” Ros replies. “And this one will work.”


	55. Pups

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Many in the pack are thinking of pups.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains brief talk of past molestation.

Lance lies on the river shore with Simon, staring up at the stars.

“What aren’t you telling me about Rex?” he suddenly asks, looking over at Simon, who turns his head in surprise.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re withholding information. I can tell. There’s something you aren’t telling me.”

Simon sighs. “Do I want to know how you know this?”

“I couldn’t tell you anyway,” Lance replies, rubbing his hands over his round belly where a little one is kicking him from inside. “Feel,” he tells Simon, taking Simon’s hand and placing it above Lance’s navel. Simon smiles at the the next little nudge.

“So what is it you’re not telling me?” Lance prods.

“It isn’t important,” Simon replies, rolling away.

“Simon…” Lance sits up in the water. “Did Rex touch you inappropriately?” When Simon doesn’t answer, Lance says, “I knew it. That bastard.”

“I kept away from him most of the time,” Simon tells him quietly. “But whenever he got the chance, he’d touch me. I once told Leith about it. And he told me that he’d always thought Rex did the same to Eunice. That’s how I put it all together about Cenred.”

“The fucker!” Lance growls.

“He was really an arsehole,” Simon agrees. “I think that’s part of the reason why I didn’t mate with anyone. That and the fact that Rex wouldn’t let us mingle with wolves outside our pack, but even after Rex died, I was reluctant to be with anyone. Until you, that is.”

“Why me?” Lance asks.

“I guess it was the pull of our bond,” Simon replies. “I don’t like to talk about Rex, though.”

“You can’t leave it bottled inside you,” Lance tells him. “Look at how angry Cenred was.”

Simon moves deeper into the water, his back to Lance. “It was only a few times. Rex would get me alone and touch my cock. I found it confusing. I would always get away somehow before much of anything happened. I avoided him, like I said. Found reasons to stay away. Soon he turned his attention to others.”

“Did you ever think about telling your aunt or uncle?” Lance asks, and Simon shakes his head. “They thought Rex could do no wrong. We already couldn’t talk about Eunice because Rex said so.” Simon shakes his head, and Lance gets up and moves to sit behind him, wrapping both his arms and his legs around him, pressing his cheek to the indentation between Simon’s shoulder blades.

“Okay. We’ll stop talking about it.  But…are you going to tell Pete that Rex touched you that way?”

“I don’t know,” Simon answers. “I almost did before, but I couldn’t.”

~~~

Gaius is grounding up some herbs when Sigmund comes in. It’s late, and Gaius knows the boy’s been out with Collum. Gaius thinks Collum is probably a good match for Sigmund. He’s is a nice lad and close to Sigmund’s age. Gaius watches Sigmund as he walks in, eyes roaming toward the sideboard, and laughs.

“Yes, Alice brought some pie. Have your snack, then on to bed with you.”

Gaius is feeling exceptionally well. Alice told him just moments ago that he looks twenty years younger. He can’t believe it, except he really feels that young. And Alice kissed him goodnight, pressing the palm of her hand against the bulge in his trousers. Gaius brushed his hand over her breast in return, making her gasp. It was the closest he’d come to sex in years, and his cock stirs just recalling the moment. It doesn’t help that Sigmund’s round arse is directly in his line of vision as he leans over to get a plate from the lower cabinet. He imagines taking Sigmund over that counter, sinking into him and thrusting away…it would be so tight, so hot…

He pauses in the grinding of his herbs, mouth sagging open at the fantasy.

Sigmund turns around, catching him looking, and Gaius’s eyes sweep over the boy before he pulls them back to the task at hand. Sigmund cuts a slice of pie and brings it on a plate to the table, eating it bite by bite, licking the peachy goodness off his lips and smiling at Gaius. Gaius finds himself staring at Sigmund’s lips. When the boy is finished, he washes off his plate and waves a cheery goodnight.

Outside, Gaius hears the pump squeak and he’s helpless to stop himself from walking over to the window and looking out, watching as Sigmund undresses and sluices his naked body with water.

~~~

Nim is curled up asleep while Gwaine pounds into Phineas’s arse. It’s been agreed upon that Phineas will bear the next litter of pups, and he’s in strong heat, pushing back into Gwaine with everything he’s got. Gwaine makes bruises on Phinny’s hips with his fingers, gripping them tightly as he surges in and out, listening to the omega moan in that sultry way that makes Gwaine harder and drives him to thrust faster. Gwaine twists his hips and smiles when Phinny shudders, coming on the sheets, head hanging between his shoulders, panting hard.

“Fuck,” he whispers plaintively, and Gwaine chuckles, thrusting harder before slipping his growing knot past Phinny’s throbbing rim, tying them.

Phinny curses again, another stream of cum shooting from his cock, his legs shaking from fatigue. Gwaine puts his arms around his omega’s waist and hauls Phineas upward against Gwaine’s chest, pulling them to a cleaner spot of the bed where they can fall onto their sides and wait for the knot to break. He sprinkles kisses over Phinny’s shoulder and ear, pausing to suck the lobe into his mouth.

“Mmm,” Phineas murmurs approvingly.

“I’m going to stay inside you until all my sperm are out,” Gwaine tells him. “We want a big family.”

“I don’t know why I had such a small litter with Declan,” Phineas sighs. “I hope there isn’t something wrong with me.”

“You said he abused you when you were pregnant. Wasn’t one born dead?”

“Yes.”

“Nim only had two,” Gwaine reminds him, kissing Phinny’s neck. “Quit worrying.” He sucks in a breath. “Ah--ahh…” His knot breaks, and Gwaine’s climax washes over him. He wraps one leg over Phinny’s hip, pulling him in closer. They stay like that a long time, falling asleep with Gwaine still tucked inside Phineas’ body.

~~~

The morning is cloudy, with rain pelting at the windows. Gaius answers the knock at the door, wondering who would be visiting so early. He’s a bit surprised to find Nim and Erynn.

“Come in, you’re getting wet,” he holds the door open wide for the women to step in.

Over pie and coffee, Erynn explains that she’s worried because she hasn’t gotten pregnant yet. “I don’t want Trevor to take on another omega mate because he thinks I can’t have pups,” she mourns. “Can you check me out and see if there’s a problem?”

“Yes, although I can never be certain,” Gaius tells her. He leads her to his examining room while Nim waits in the kitchen. When they return a short while later, Gaius tells the women that he couldn’t find a visible reason why Erynn shouldn’t be able to conceive. “It could be Trevor who can’t sire pups. Or it could just take some time.”

Erynn and Nim share a look before Nim says, “Thank you, Gaius. You’ve put our minds at rest.” They leave.

Outside Erynn grasps Nim’s arm. “I don’t want Trevor to take another mate, Nim! I heard a rumor the Alpha’s considering offering him Ros! If I don’t get pregnant this heat, I need to try something else. You said you might know of something…please help me!”

Nim presses her lips together. “Let’s hope we won’t need to, but if it comes down to it, we could get an alpha that we know for a fact can sire pups to impregnate you. It’s risky, though. If Trevor ever found out…”

“I’d be willing to take the risk,” Erynn says immediately. They leave the under hang and hurry off in the rain.


	56. Spring

Erynn enters her house quietly, hoping not to wake Trevor, but her hopes are dashed when her alpha appears from the bedroom.

“Where have you been?” he barks, and she jumps, immediately baring her neck to him.

“You aren’t supposed to leave without me.” Trevor’s beside her in two strides, his big hands on her arms.

“I w-was with my sister. She had to see th-the healer.”

“This early in the morning?” Trevor growls. “Still…she’s an omega, and I can scent your heat. You should have had a chaperone.” He lowers his nose, running it up and down the column of her neck. Erynn shivers, her oestrum pouring down her legs. Trevor abruptly lowers his canines and sinks them into her skin, and she climaxes hard, body arching against him. He pushes her skirt above her waist. He’s warm from the bed, naked body covered in dark hair that electrifies Erynn’s already sensitized body as his mouth moves to envelop hers, tongue diving in.

Erynn loses her breath in the kiss, feels Trevor lift her up, shove his huge cock inside her, her back against the wall. Her gasp is lost in his mouth. He pounds into her almost cruelly, but she loves it, grasps his dark, unruly hair with her fingers and pulls at it, biting at his lips.

He growls low, taking her even harder until she feels the swollen knot pushing in. He spends the time they’re tied teasing her hard nipples relentlessly, digging his thumbnails in the tips, watching her squirm, laughing at her moans and gasps of pleasure.

“Perhaps you will give me my pups this time,” he tells her, forcing the large knot farther in. It breaks, and he groans, eyes rolling back in his head as he shudders through a strong climax. Erynn feels his sperm flowing into her, and she prays to the wolf god of fertility that they will impregnate her.

~~~

Miraculously, in Will’s mind, Mithian has gotten off her lazy arse and begun cooking for the ranch. Albeit, the job is now doubly large with the added Freemont pack, but she’s enlisted the help of Allison and a few other betas, and Will has to admit the food is good. They sit eating lunch on the first day of real spring work in the fields, and Will runs his eyes over the new, huge pack gathered together outside at the picnic tables.

Arthur and Merlin’s new house is complete, and they’ve just moved in. The fencing has been changed, and there’s greater access to what was formerly the Freemont ranch. The two ranches are merging nicely, and Will happens to know, from Leon, that Arthur has decided to give the pesky omega Ros to Ronan, the uber-alpha, who will undoubtedly know how to handle him.

Will scans the tables for Ronan and finds him seated by Brionna. He’s a handsome man, and he gives off a strong alpha vibe that makes Will want to cower at his feet. He doesn’t much like the feeling. While he’s thinking about it, Will looks around for Ros, but doesn’t see him. He turns to Mordred.

“Seen the slut?” he asks him.

“In heat in the omega den.” Mordred butters a roll and pops it into his mouth.

Will nods. “Where’s Merlin?”

“At home napping.” 

Will notices someone else who appears to be scanning the omega table for Ros—the odd-looking alpha, Uallus. His weird, whitish eyes make Will’s skin crawl.

Leon swings by the table on his way back to the fields and kisses the top of Will’s head. “Be good,” he tells him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Will makes a face.

Leon shrugs. “Just seems like good advice where you’re concerned.” He walks off. Will watches him go. “I’m surprised he even has time to talk to me,” he says. “All he thinks about lately is those plans for the new barn Arthur has him drawing up.”

Mordred looks at him. “Leon’s skilled at architecture.”

Will rolls his eyes. “Don’t you start. I’m tired of hearing about it.” He sullenly finishes his meal before getting up and stretching his limbs.

He decides he’ll go see what old Ros is up to. Perhaps he’s wanking to a picture of the Alpha, squirting his cum all over Arthur’s face. The image makes Will chuckle to himself. He makes his way to the omega den, which will soon be doubled once they add an addition. Will can only hope that Leon won’t volunteer for that task, too, or Will’s unlikely to ever see him. He sighs. He’s finally decided he wants another litter, and here Leon’s going to be too busy during Will’s heat to even mount him.

There’s a figure lingering near the door to the omega den, and Will slows his steps, recognizing Uallus.

“What are you doing here?” Will asks, puffing out his chest belligerently. He isn’t in the mood to be treated like some subservient omega.

Uallus turns his pale gaze to Will. “Is it a crime to stand here?”

“Depends on your intentions,” Will answers. “You’re an alpha standing outside the omega den. There are omegas in heat in there. What do you want?”

Uallus looks down at his feet, shoulders sagging just a little, and Will detects vulnerability in the man. He softens a bit.

“Look, man,” he tells him, “if you like Ros, you need to give it up, yeah? He’s going to be mated to someone else. Save yourself the heartache. Besides, he’s a right pain in the arse, that one.” Will moves past Uallas, who looks Will over as though seeing him for the first time. He sniffs the air, and Will hurriedly slips inside the darkness of the den.

When Will checks on Ros, he doesn’t find him wanking over a picture of Arthur.

He finds him naked and erect with the Alpha right there with him.

“What the _fuck_?!” Will exclaims, stopping dead in his tracks.


	57. Strong Intincts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will finds himself in another tight spot, particularly when all the pheromones and testosterone sets off his own heat and the door's locked from the outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, okay, so maybe I was a bit mean to leave off there. He, he, he.
> 
> Werewolf mating instincts are extremely strong. Alphas in rut and omegas in heat have to fight much harder to resist temptation than a human would. Those who remain true to their mates do it out of preference, not social mores.

 

 

Arthur makes a lunge for the door, but it closes before he can get to it. “Dammit! It’s locked from the outside!” Arthur roars, covering his nose with his hand. His chest rises and falls in great surges and he backs into the far wall. Ros turns and presents to him, arse shiny with oestrum. He wiggles it.

“Come on, bring that big Alpha cock over here,” Ros urges him, groaning and arching his back invitingly.

Will can see that Arthur is barely holding it together, every instinct in him telling him to breed the presenting omega, but to his credit, he’s still dressed. The whole place reeks of pheromones. Will feels his own heat rising, and he trembles.

“Gods,” he says, staring at Arthur’s bulging pants, his body reacting, wetting the back of his trousers. Arthur’s eyes widen.

“Gods, Alpha…” Will’s fingers unwillingly go to his pants, trembling as he unlaces them.

“Will, no…” Arthur shakes his head, now using both hands to cover his nose. “I won’t do this. I won’t.”

“And why the hell not?” Ros asks. “You’re the Alpha! You can have as many mates as you want! Hell, fuck us both, only fuck me first.”

“I swear to the gods, Ros…” Arthur says through his teeth, you may get me to fuck you in the end, but I am _never_ taking you as a mate! Do you understand me? I don’t want anyone but Merlin!”

Will fights the growing urge to get on his hands and knees before the Alpha, his need to be filled overwhelming. Moving toward the door, he slams his fist against it. “Help!” he yells, hoping someone will hear.

“You’ll mate me,” Ros tells Arthur. “A man like you is made to take many mates. Come fuck me! Come on! Do it! I’m dripping for you.” He reaches back and spreads his cheeks wide, revealing his glistening hole.

Will can see Arthur’s cock moving in his slacks, pulsing like a heartbeat. He pounds harder on the door, then kicks it for good measure. Arthur takes a step forward, and Will grabs him by the wrist. A current runs between them, and suddenly Arthur has Will pinned against the wall, only the thin material of Arthur’s slacks between hard cock and slick arse, as Will’s trousers slide to the floor.

“No!” Ros shouts. “Take me, not him!”

Will wants it and he wants it bad, but he thinks of Leon and of Merlin.

“No, Alpha…” he begs, even as he pushes back against the hard heat, “concentrate on Merlin. Merlin.”

With a growl, Arthur hurls himself away, covering his face again. Will pounds on the door some more, finally hearing footsteps.

“In here! We’re locked in!”

When the door opens, Uallus stands there, taking in the madness around him. He breathes in, pheromones overwhelming him. Quickly, he lowers his trousers, revealing his hardening cock, and Arthur just as quickly pushes Will out the door and down the hallway as sounds of Ros’s debauching follow them up the stairs.

Will trips, then makes a grab for his trousers, yanking them up as he falls out the door and into the sunshine, rolling to Leon’s feet. Leon opens his mouth in surprise, then growls low when he sees Arthur exit after Will, still obviously aroused.

“What the hell?” Mordred whispers from behind Leon.

“I can explain,” Will babbles from Leon’s feet.

Arthur takes several steps away from Will and Leon, leaning against the side of the house to catch his breath.

“I got a message in the fields that Merlin was in the omega den and wanted me,” Arthur tells them quickly. “Ros was there instead. He closed the door, which locked from the outside. He’s in heat, and he offered himself to me.” Arthur swallows. “I held out as long as I could…Gods, Will…I’m so glad you showed up, but…”

“But what?” Leon growls. “Would you like to tell me why my mate had his pants down while he’s in heat?” Leon’s eyes flash gold.

Mordred looks around, waving Cenred over from where he stands several feet away.

“He…Will went into heat,” Arthur explains.

“It was all the pheromones, and the testosterone down there…” Will explains, getting up from the ground and clinging to Leon, who pushes him in front of him and begins rubbing his scent all over him. “It sparked my heat, which was coming on anyway. We were locked in there.”

“If Will hadn’t banged on the door and Uallus hadn’t heard,” Arthur covers his face, unable to finish the thought. Cenred comes to stand in between Leon and Arthur.

“Uallus is fucking the daylights out of Ros right now,” Will grins wickedly, then groans as Leon reaches around and cups Will’s groin possessively. He pushes Will forward and into the darkness of the omega den, quickly finding a side room and forcing Will to his knees. Leon lowers his trousers, easily pushing Will’s down, and enters him quickly, fucking into him and making Will moan and spread his legs apart to take all of him.

“Don’t you ever put yourself….in that…position… again!” Leon tells him as he thrusts relentlessly.

“I didn’t mean to!” Will tells him breathlessly.

“You never…do!” Leon grasps Will firmly and quickens his pace.

“Ooohhh…Leon!” Will comes hard as Leon knots.

Leon breathes into his ear. “You were going to let the Alpha take you?”

“No!” Will exclaims, feeling Leon’s cock sliding back and forth, knot pushing on his prostate.

“You were going to let someone else in this hole? It’s mine, Will, mine!” He pushes in deeper. “It’s fucking mine! You’re fucking mine!” His knot breaks and Leon howls, shooting seed into Will. Will’s getting hard again, he’s so turned on by Leon’s possessive words. “You think I won’t take on the Alpha if I have to?” Leon asks, starting to fuck him again.

Will pants, bending over low, taking everything Leon can give him.

Leon fucks him long and rough, fucks him until Will’s rim is loose and red, until his legs are soaking and he’s sore. When they finally leave the omega den, Will can’t walk properly and Leon has to carry him home.

~~~

Arthur waits until Uallus brings Ros out of the omega den.

“I’ve mated him,” Uallus tells Arthur.

“You better keep him in line,” Arthur tells Uallus. “If you can’t, he’s out of here. He’s defied me again and again. I’m not his pawn to toy with.”

“Yes, Alpha. I will keep him in his place.”

Indeed, Ros looks completely cowed.

Arthur heads home, angry and upset, both. The beautiful smile Merlin greets him with undoes him completely, and Arthur falls at his omega’s feet and begins to cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe you guys thought I'd let Arthur cheat on Merlin! For shame!


	58. Role Reversal

“Arthur, love, tell me what’s wrong,” Merlin croons, getting off the bed where he’d been cuddling the children and drawing Arthur into his arms. Collum quickly leads the pups out, shutting the door behind them.

Merlin pushes Arthur’s blond hair out of his face, disturbed at the tears falling from his mate’s eyes. “What’s happened? Tell me.”

Arthur’s bottom lip trembles. He sits facing Merlin on the bedroom floor of their new house, the large windows behind his back looking over the woods.

“It isn’t what happened but what almost happened,” Arthur replies hoarsely as he looks into Merlin’s eyes. “Merlin, I wouldn’t intentionally hurt you for the world—you’re everything to me, but it could have so easily happened.” Arthur’s face crumples and he brings his hands up to cover it.

Merlin’s gut clenches, and he drags the fingers of his right hand through Arthur’s hair, waiting for Arthur to calm enough to tell him, wondering what it could be about, although he has his suspicions.

He looks out the window at the approaching dusk. “What did he do this time?” Merlin finally asks and hears Arthur take in a sharp breath.

“I got a message in the field that you needed me in the omega den,” Arthur begins, raising his head. Merlin meets his eyes. He knew it was Ros, that conniving bitch.

“And?” Merlin asks.

“And…Ros was waiting for me there. He locked the door to the room from the outside.” Arthur swallows, and Merlin knows what it costs Arthur to tell this. To admit to being duped again by the plotting wolf. “He was in the throes of a heavy heat.”

Merlin stiffens, bringing his hand down to his side and clenching his fist. Ros, an omega in heat, locked in a room with Arthur--the very thought curdles Merlin’s blood with rage.

“What happened?” Merlin asks in as controlled a voice as he can muster. Part of him wants to move away from Arthur, protect himself, afraid of what Arthur will say next. The other part wants to go find Ros and rip his head off. But he forces himself to stay still and listen.

“He presented to me. Flaunted himself,” Arthur tells him, tears still leaking from his eyes. “I resisted him, Merlin. The scent was so strong…I covered my face with my hands.” Arthur is shaking, and Merlin puts a hand on Arthur’s knee.

“That bastard,” Merlin whispers vehemently, hating Ros with a passion. Picturing him presenting to Arthur makes Merlin want Ros’s blood. He clenches his teeth together.

“I didn’t know how I was going to get out of there, Merlin…” Arthur leans forward. “I want you to know that I never would have bitten him. Never.” His eyes are so sincere that Merlin bows his head and leans against him for a moment. This is his Alpha-- the side of Arthur no one sees but Merlin, his Vixen.

“I believe you,” Merlin tells him, although he finds himself surreptitiously sniffing at Arthur for signs of Ros’ touch. He thinks he detects Will’s scent on him. “Tell me what happened next. All of it.”

“Will came in, but he didn’t know and shut the door. My testosterone triggered his heat.”

Merlin gasps, imagining how catastrophic that must have been—Arthur faced with two omegas in raging heat, their scent surrounding him in a small, enclosed space.

“Oh, Arthur,” he presses his cheek to Arthur’s wet face. “I’m so sorry. How did you manage it?”

“I…I…it was difficult. Will was overcome,” Arthur continues. “He began unlacing his pants…it was terrible. He didn’t want to…It was as if our bodies took over. At one point, Ros pushed me too far and I started forward…I couldn’t stop myself, but Will grabbed my wrist, and when he did, I pinned him to the wall.”

 _That explains his scent on him_ , Merlin thinks.

Arthur’s tears start fresh again, and Merlin watches him sadly, empathy warring with jealousy inside him. He thinks of Leon and what his reaction would be to this. For a moment, his imagination allows him to picture his Arthur pushing Will into the wall and taking him from behind…

“But…Will reminded me to remember you.” Arthur looks up at Merlin, whose jaw hurts from clenching it. “He shouldn’t have had to remind me, Merlin!”

Merlin lifts his hand to caress Arthur’s face. “Don’t be so hard on yourself,” he says softly, anger turning to jelly in the face of Arthur’s pain. Arthur didn’t rut with Will. He’s sorry his body even wanted to.

“Will pounded on the door, and finally Uallus opened it. We got out of there, and Uallus mated Ros.” Arthur grasps Merlin’s hands in his.

“Forgive me, Merlin! I never would have been able to live with myself if I’d taken either of them. And I might have done it…I don’t know! I was weakening.”

“Shh.” Merlin pulls Arthur into an embrace. “There’s nothing to forgive. You’re so strong to resist such temptation. I love you.” And it’s true—Arthur did nothing, and Merlin isn’t angry. With him. He kisses Arthur’s neck on his mating bite, and Arthur shudders in his arms.

“I don’t want anyone but you, Merlin,” Arthur tells him, turning his head and kissing Merlin’s mouth. Merlin kisses him back, hard, demanding. After a few moments of this, he pulls Arthur to his feet and tells him to undress. Arthur does with shaking hands, unusually compliant. He lies down in their bed, watching with wet eyes as Merlin removes his own T-shirt and loose slacks.

Merlin crawls up on the bed beside Arthur and nudges him to roll over. “You did nothing wrong today,” he tells Arthur, kissing along his smooth, broad back and down to the round globes of his buttocks. “I just want to remind you that you’re mine.” He parts the cheeks and swipes his tongue between them. Arthur gasps, fingers grasping the sheets. Merlin pushes Arthur’s legs farther apart and licks again, thoroughly cleaning before dipping down to lap at Arthur’s perineum and then take his heavy ball sac in his mouth.

Arthur moans, writhing and calling Merlin’s name, his breathing turning to quick pants.

Merlin holds his own cock in one hand, feels it fattening. He squeezes and pulls at it as he returns his mouth to Arthur’s rim, pushing saliva in with his tongue before bringing fingers covered with his own oestrum up and stretching the pretty hole out, teasing Arthur’s prostate as he does so. Arthur grunts, shoving his luscious arse up in the air. Merlin bites it, making a mark on one cheek, and Arthur sobs into the pillow. He’s so beautiful lying there; Merlin literally aches for him. It kills him to think of that dirty omega locking Arthur in a room with him and presenting his filthy, dripping arse to him. Anger courses through Merlin as he continues to add fingers to Arthur’s hole, relentlessly stretching. Ros will pay, but first Merlin will reclaim what’s his.

Getting up on his knees, Merlin presses the tip of his meaty cock to Arthur’s anus, now open and inviting, rim quivering.

“Are you ready for me?” he asks Arthur, lovingly rubbing at the small of Arthur’s back, now beaded in sweat. At Arthur’s nod, Merlin slowly sinks in.

Afterward, lying in Arthur’s arms, the familiar smell of Arthur’s sweat in his nostrils and the warmth of his body surrounding him, Merlin comes down from his post-coital high, and he again thinks of Ros and what he did. Not only that day, but before. His interfering could have cost Merlin so much.

He says quietly into the darkness, “Ros is going to pay for this, Arthur.” Arthur stiffens and looks down at Merlin.

“He’s mated to Uallus, who has promised me he’ll keep him in line,” Arthur tells him, voice hoarse and scratchy from his cries of passion.

“I don’t care. He tried to take what’s mine, and I won’t have it,” Merlin states emphatically. He sits up, wincing a little. His cock is sore, but just thinking of having it up his alpha’s arse makes it jerk with renewed interest. “I am going to tear him to pieces for what he tried to take from us,” he swears.

Arthur stares at Merlin. “What are you saying, exactly?”

“I’m saying that I’m going over there and beating the bloody snot out of Ros,” Merlin answers evenly, swinging his legs off the bed and getting to his feet.

“But…Merlin.” Arthur scrambles to his knees, eyes watching Merlin’s every move as he dresses. “Do you think that’s wise? You’re carrying pups…”

“Oh, he’s not going to get any punches in,” Merlin says confidently, slipping into his shoes. “I’m going to lay him out flat, as is my right after he showed his whorey backside to my alpha mate.” He starts for the door, and Arthur climbs out of bed, standing naked and unsure, but oh-so-beautiful. Merlin stares at him for a moment.

“Stay here, Arthur. Take a hot shower and wait for me in our bed. I won’t be long,” Merlin tells him before leaving the house.


	59. A Scare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished my Reel Merlin fic today! Hurray! Here's a short chapter for tonight.

Leon has left Will sleeping in their bed. It’s been a long evening of fucking, and Leon hopes he hasn’t been too hard on his omega, but the ire Leon felt when he saw the Alpha leaving behind Will when Will was in heat had Leon in rut-rage for hours.

Now he plans to set things straight with that trouble-maker Ros.

Leon walks past Arthur’s and Merlin’s new home, noticing that only a dim light is on in the master bedroom, and continues on into the far part of the ranch which was once the Freemont territory. He is about to pound on Uallus’s door when he hears growling and a loud thump from within. He finds that the door is unlocked and pushes it open.

“What’s going on?” Leon demands, at first confused and more than a little upset to find Merlin standing there, face crimson and panting with anger. Uallus is backed up against a wall, watching, and Ros lies on the floor.

“Don’t worry about it, Leon,” Merlins tells him, breathing hard. “Ros is never going to come near Arthur or Will again. In fact, he’s never going to interfere in anyone’s life again, are you, Ros?”

Ros looks up, blood oozing from nose and mouth and nods. “Yes, Vixen,” he replies meekly.

“Keep him good and fucked,” Merlin tells Uallus. “Don’t let him ever have a chance to even think about roaming.”

Merlin turns to leave, and Ros starts to get up off the floor. Before he can manage it, Leon punches him to the ground again. “That’s for getting my omega in the middle of your scheme,” Leon tells him before running after Merlin.

“Merlin, are you all right? Let me walk you home.”

Merlin smiles tightly at Leon. “I’m fine.”

“I can’t believe Arthur let you out alone like this,” Leon exclaims.

“I would’ve liked to have seen him try to stop me,” Merlin replies.

“You’re not angry at Arthur, are you?” Leon asks. “I mean, I admit for a minute that I was, but that was only for a moment. They didn’t do anything, and honestly…even if they had…”

“I know,” Merlin replies. “Let’s not talk about it. I’m not angry with Arthur, no. I’m furious with Ros. I can’t believe anyone could be so forward. He locked Arthur in there with him!” Merlin turns to Leon, face red. “He presented to him!”

Leon puts a hand on Merlin’s arm before Merlin jerks it away. “Calm down, Merlin. It’s over with. Everything’s okay.”

“It doesn’t feel okay. I thought I’d feel better after clocking him, and I did for a minute. But now I’m just angry again.” Merlin walks faster, and Leon doubles his pace to keep up with him. “Arthur was locked in that room with two omegas in heat. How he managed to contain himself, I don’t know. What if they’d done something, Leon?” Merlin swings around to look Leon in the face. “What if they’d given in? Arthur said he’d almost done it…when Will stopped him from going for Ros.”

“We would have dealt with it somehow, Merlin. We love them,” Leon replies, worried for the omega, whose face is too red by far. “Come on. Calm down, now. Let’s get you home and to bed. Take a couple deep breaths.”

Merlin does, stumbling unsteadily sideways. Leon reaches to steady him with a hand to Merlin's elbow.

“Dizzy…” Merlin mumbles before collapsing to the ground.

Heart beating fast, Leon scoops Merlin up, Merlin's head lolling to the side, and hurries toward Arthur’s house.

“Arthur!” Leon yells when he enters the front door.

Arthur comes running down the steps in his pyjama bottoms, hair damp.

“Oh my God, what happened? I knew I should have followed him!” Arthur takes Merlin from Leon and carries him upstairs, laying Merlin on their bed.

“I went to Ros’s. Merlin had knocked him to the floor, no problem. On the way home, Merlin was upset. He got all red in the face, dizzy, and then he collapsed.”

“Go for Gaius,” Arthur says, eyes never leaving Merlin's face, and Leon runs from the room.

“What happened?” Merlin whispers a moment later as Arthur pushes the hair from his eyes.

“You collapsed outside. Leon brought you home,” Arthur tells him softly. “I’ve sent him for Gaius.”

Merlin looks tired. “I’m all right. No need for Gaius.”

“Too bad, he’s coming anyway. Just lie still.”

“Glad to see you’re back to your bossy self.” Merlin smiles.

“Merlin…” Arthur’s eyes tear up. “It’s always been you, since that day in the city street.” He lowers his head to Merlin’s, and Merlin puts a hand on Arthur’s arm.

“I know; it’s okay. Lie down with me until Gaius comes.”

Arthur does, pulling Merlin into his arms. “Don’t scare me like that ever again.”

“Sorry. I’ll try not to.”

When Gaius and Leon arrive, both the Alpha and his Vixen are asleep.


	60. Bed Rest

Arthur growls when he smells Leon near.

“Hey, I’m the one who brought him in, remember?” Leon chides gently.

 “And your scent’s all over him.” Arthur rubs his eyes, sitting up. “Sorry. Gaius…I’m glad you’re here. He says he’s all right, but I’m worried.”

“Let me just have a look at him,” Gaius puts his bag down, and Arthur slides out of the bed.

“I’ll make us some tea. Come on, Leon.” They head for the kitchen.

“This whole thing has been a nightmare.” Arthur sighs as he puts the kettle on. “I’m glad the children haven’t awakened. I never should have let Merlin go over there alone, but he was angry and adamant, and it’s just across the way.”

“Stop beating yourself up about it,” Leon says, sitting down and rubbing his eyes.

“And I’m sorry about earlier, Leon.”

“So am I,” Leon agrees. “I know it wasn’t your fault. You did a crack-up job of resisting, actually.”

When the tea is ready, they sit drinking it until Gaius joins them. Arthur immediately jumps to his feet.

“He seems to be fine,” Gaius hurries to say. “He just needs to stay in bed a few days and rest.”

Arthur nods, smiles, and then stares.

“What is it?” Gaius asks.

“Gaius…why…are you sporting a boner?”

Leon chokes on his tea, spewing it all over the table top.

Gaius frowns. “Stop looking at my crotch, Arthur Pendragon!”

“Well, I have a right to know why you’re hard after examining my mate!”

Gaius sputters a moment. “I can’t help it, all right? I’m always hard lately! I get an erection just walking around these days. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” He heads for the door, mumbling to himself.

“Sit down and have some tea until that thing goes down,” Arthur advises, grabbing Gaius by the arm and tugging him back.

The three men sit and drink their tea, watching out the large bay window as the sun begins to rise over the mountains in the west. Footsteps on the stairs make Arthur put down his teacup, thinking Merlin’s awake, but it’s Collum who appears around the corner, disheveled and half-dressed. Behind him is Sigmund, his hand clasped in Collum’s. They freeze when they spot the three men at the table.

“Caught in the act, are you?” Leon laughs.

“Uh…” Collum looks mortified.

“It’s all right,” Arthur waves his hand. “You live here. No one expects you to be a monk.”

Collum nods his head and leads Sigmund out the back door.

“I’d better get home before Will wakes up,” Leon states, getting up from the table. “I was a little hard on him yesterday, no pun intended.”

“Leon, you rogue.” Arthur smiles.

Gaius gets up, too, although his problem hasn’t abated.

“You really need to take care of that, man,” Arthur says.

“You think?” Gaius’ shaggy eyebrow rises.

“Perhaps Miss Alice?”

Gaius sighs. “Miss Alice, Miss Alice, has anyone stopped to think that maybe I prefer blokes?”

Arthur is taken aback. “Well, er, no?”

“Hrrumph.” Gaius leaves in a huff. Arthur and Leon look at one another for a moment before shrugging.

“There are no hookers in the wolf world, and we can’t exactly send him into town, can we?” Leon asks.

“No. Maybe ask Lance. He seems to have started this whole thing.” Arthur yawns. “I’m going back to bed.”

Outside, Leon finds Collum and Sigmund snogging, with Gaius watching them from a few yards away.

“Gaius!” Leon hisses, and the older man jumps before moving onto the path to his house. Leon walks along the fence, around the barn area, toward the line of houses in the distance. The air is crisp and cool, and everywhere trees are in bud. When he enters his home, all is still quiet.

Will is on his stomach, asleep in their bed, and Leon slips out of his clothes and in next to him, covering his mate’s body with his own.

“Mmph, yer cold,” Will complains.

“Warm me up, then,” Leon suggests, and Will turns to wrap his arms around him.

~~~

In the following days Merlin spends in bed, the children in and out of the room, bringing him surprises, some of them messy, like worms.

Mordred visits, and Merlin tells him that he’s decided he wants a new omega den close to his house. “That way it will be between the two ranches and within easy distance of both,” Merlin explains. “We were going to expand the other anyway.”

“Sounds like a good ideal.” Mordred lounges beside Merlin on Merlin and Arthur’s big bed. “I think I’m having more pups than you this time. Look how big my belly is already.” He looks down at the mound swelling up from his waist.

“Well, I certainly hope I don’t have six again!” Merlin states emphatically. “Did you see Lance? He’s probably only carrying one. Looks like a little round ball.”

Mordred nods. “My ankles are swelling. I had to get Cenred to rub my feet last night.”

Merlin laughs outright. “I can’t imagine Cenred rubbing anyone’s feet, even yours. Gods, he used to be such a prick.”

“Merlin!” Mordred pretends to take offense. “Don’t make me fight you!”

“I’ve had enough fighting lately, thanks,” Merlin says with a sigh. “And I really want out of this bed.”

There’s a tap on the door and the two omegas look up to find Will standing there.

“Well, well, well, did Leon finally let you out to play?” Mordred asks sweetly.

“Shut it, Mordy,” Will scowls.

Merlin opens his arms for Will to climb into. “I’ve missed you,” he tells his friend, hugging him tightly to him. “Thank you for keeping Arthur in line.”

“Glad to do it,” Will says easily. “I didn’t want that huge thing up my arse…well, I _did,_ technically, but you know what I mean.”

“You’d better stop while I still like you,” Merlin warns, pinching Will’s arm.

“Ouch!” Will yanks his arm away, rubbing the spot. “And to answer your question, Mordy, yes, Leon has let me out, after marking me with his scent over and over again…I’m sure someone in Australia is asking what that smell is.”

Merlin laughs, then tells Will about his idea for the omega den, and Will approves.

“I hated that location, anyway. Too close to the main house and nosy Mithian and her minions. Gods, I can’t stand that girl. She seems to think she owns the ranch now that she’s mated to Pete.”

“Tell me about it!” Mordred says. “She’s got this idea that she’s Cenred’s step-mother. He won’t let her near our pups. Oh, and last week we walked in on her blowing Pete.” Mordred shudders. “I still can’t wipe that picture from my mind.”

Merlin and Will make twin faces of distaste.

“Ew…what did you do?” Merlin asks.

“We were invited for dinner…the pups were at Gilli and Daegal’s, thank the gods. Pete told us to come on in, they were almost finished. It was the most uncomfortable three minutes of our lives.”

Will cringes. “You just sat there while they…”

“Pretty much,” Mordred replies. “We made small talk with each other.”

“That tops any weird situation I’ve ever been in,” Will says, “which is saying a lot, actually.” He looks at Merlin. “Speaking of which, did Arthur tell you Gaius had a hard-on after examining you the other day?”

“What?!” Merlin exclaims, mouth dropping.

Will nods. “Seems you float the old guy’s boat.”

Merlin doesn’t know what to say to this. There are no words.


	61. A Trip to the Hot Springs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cleaned up that last chapter...reads much better now. Sorry for the sloppy job.

 

Gaius climbs on a chair and looks around the top of his closet, moving books aside and blowing on their dusty covers. He feels sure he saw that great tome somewhere. Something’s been niggling at the back of his mind for a while, and he wants to get to the bottom of it. The book that his father left to him has all kinds of ancient lore in it, and Gaius knows he’s seen it around somewhere. He knows he brought it on the trek west—it’s just a matter of finding it.

A knock on the door has Gaius carefully climbing down from the chair. “Come in!” he calls. Burt appears from around the corner.

“You open for business?” he asks, looking Gaius over. “You look like you’ve been dusting. You’ve got cobwebs all over your hair.”

Gaius sheepishly wipes off his head with a cloth and stares up at the tall beta. “I was going through my closet,” he tells him. “What can I do for you?”

“I’d like some of that salve for my knee you gave me last fall,” Burt tells him.

“Certainly,” Gaius leads Burt into the next room. “You should really try the hot springs. I’ve been going there every day to soak, and my arthritis has almost disappeared.”

“Don’t have arther-itis,” Burt tells him.

“No, but it might help. I’m going to the springs now…would you like to come along?”

Burt seems to contemplate for a moment, and Gaius is sure he’s going to turn him down when Burt suddenly pronounces that he will go. They set off, the spring sunshine warming their backs as they walk. Along the way, Burt tells Gaius how he was born in these parts and how he’s grown up on the Hobart ranch.

“Never put much faith in healers,” Burt says. “But your salve did stop the ache in my knee for a while.”

“It does help with the symptoms, but I’ve never had anything work like the hot springs and massage,” Gaius tells him. “I feel like a different man. Younger, even.”

When the two men reach the springs, steam rising from the bubbling waters, Gaius strips off his clothes and steps into their depths. Burt watches, dark eyes taking in everything. After a moment, he takes off his own clothes and climbs in, too, easing down into the hot liquid with a sigh.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Gaius asks, allowing his legs to float up to the top of the water. His knees don't look as knobby as they use to, he notices with satisfaction.

“Brilliant,” Burt proclaims, closing his eyes and leaning his head back on a smooth rock.

Gaius looks at his feet poking out of the surface. Not too long ago, they had bunions and his toes curved with age. Now they look more naturally shaped, and they don’t pain him like they used to. Again something niggles at his brain, and he wishes he could find that book.

Burt soon falls asleep, and Gaius listens to him snore, watching the birds flitting about in the trees overhead. When a good amount of time has passed, he climbs out of the water and spreads out on a rock, drying in the sun. He soon drifts off himself. When he awakens, he has a stiffy, and Burt’s staring at it with envy.

“I haven’t had one of those in a rat’s age,” Burt says in awe.

“I stopped getting them, too,” Gaius admits, sitting up. “But after being in these springs for a while, they started up again out of the blue.”

“Really?” Burt looks amazed. “I think I’ll come up here more often, then.”

“I come every morning. Let’s meet after breakfast and come together,” Gaius suggests. Burt agrees.

“What are you going to do about that?” Burt points at Gaius’s hard-on.

“Oh,” Gaius looks down. “I don’t know. It goes away eventually.”

“Seems a shame…don’t you bring yourself off?” Burt asks. “Think out a little fantasy or something?”

Gaius shrugs, embarrassed.

“If I could get that hard again, better believe I’d be wanking like there’s no tomorrow,” Burt assures Gaius, leaning back down in the water and closing his eyes. “Go ahead; don’t mind me.”

Gaius bites his lip, takes hold of his cock, and begins to pump it, thinking about the last time he saw Sigmund washing under the spigot outside. His breath comes a little faster.

“That’s it,” Gaius hears Burt say, and _gods_ …that’s kind of sexy. Suddenly Gaius imagines what it would be like to slip into the water with Burt…and then to slip _into_ Burt. Fuck him senseless. Cock impossibly hard now, nuts shrinking up beneath it, Gaius moans.

“You’re getting close, aren’t you? Shoot it off—come on!” Burt urges him.

Gaius comes with a series of gasps, cum spurting out over his hand and onto the sun-warmed rock. He opens his eyes to find Burt watching him, a satisfied look on his rugged face.


	62. New Omega Den

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I'm not making errors in continuity. It's difficult with a fic this large, and I do try going back. I don't think Will is aware of Merlin, Mordred, and Phineas' habit of rutting their alphas. Correct me if I'm wrong, though.  
> I also am having trouble keeping track of who's with pups and who isn't, who's announced it and who hasn't, although I really do try to keep track of that, too. If you notice an error there, let me know and I'll fix it. Thanks. <3 Sorry for sloppy continuity!

 

 

“Why is he staring at you?” Merlin asks Will over lunch behind the main house, so thankful to be outside that he doesn’t even mind that Arthur insists on sitting with him at the omega table and keeps feeding him bits of food like a child.

“Who?” Will asks, mouth full of the succulent beef they raise on the ranch.

“Uallus,” Merlin answers out the side of his mouth, eyes never leaving his plate. “He’s staring. Even though he’s got an arm draped around his slut so he won’t get away.” 

Merlin watches Will send a glance over to the next table where Uallus eats.

“He’s probably staring at you—hoping you won’t come over and tear into his mate again,” Will replies easily. “They’re even afraid to sit at our table.” He laughs. “You’re such a badass, Merlin.”

“You better believe he is,” Arthur says from Merlin’s other side, and begins kissing down Merlin’s neck. Merlin gets distracted then, and doesn’t notice how Uallus can’t take his eyes off Will’s laughing face or how Ros notices this.

After lunch, Merlin drags Will to see the start of the new omega den.

“Fuck, when you want something, Arthur gets to it,” Will comments with a low whistle of appreciation. “I’ve wanted Leon to build an extra room onto our house, but do you see it happening?”

“Maybe if you were a little nicer to him,” Merlin suggests.

“I’m plenty nice to him,” Will scoffs. “Sucked his big cock just this morning.”

Merlin watches Percy lift a heavy piece of lumber. “Donald’s been working a lot at the main house. He still isn’t comfortable around me, although I’m not angry with him. Ros has certainly usurped him as bad guy in Arthur’s eyes.”

“Donald’s a nice guy. He knows what he did was wrong,” Will says. “He’s been sticking around home, and also helping out with his parents and sisters. Percy told me the other day Donald’s carrying his pups.”

Merlin’s face lights up. “That’s brilliant! After all the heartache with Freya, I’m so glad.”

“Me, too,” Will agrees. “They deserve some happiness. I’m pretty sure I’ll be having some not too long after you do.”

“Really?” Merlin looks at Will, surprised. “I thought you wanted to wait a long time.”

“Changed my mind.” Will shrugs. “Everybody seems to be doing it.”

“Yeah, seems like we’re having a regular population explosion,” Merlin comments. “When you think over the past couple of years since I came to the pack.”

“Maybe you brought us good luck,” Will pokes Merlin in the side.

“Maybe,” Merlin muses, chuckling. His attention’s soon drawn to his mate, shirtless, helping to nail some boards.

“Do you ever rut Leon, Will? Take him, I mean?”

Will looks at Merlin, shocked. “Are you kidding? Arthur lets you do that?”

“I didn’t say that,” Merlin backpedals. “I’ve just heard of it. I wondered if there’re alphas who do.”

Will shakes his head. “I sincerely doubt it.”

Merlin’s glad he dodged that bus. He thinks of being inside Arthur’s tight hole, his dominant mate at his mercy beneath him. There’s nothing like it, and Merlin feels himself hardening in his pants.

“I’m going to check on the pups,” he tells Will, heading into the house.

~~~

“Thank the gods it’s you and not me,” Nim tells Phineas a week later when they’re all cuddled in the new omega den. It smells of fresh lumber and sawdust. “I’m not ready to carry any new pups.”

“I don’t mind,” Phinny tells her, groaning as she kneads his shoulders.

“I’m really not over my little Pip’s death,” she confides in a sad voice.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “Such a sweet babe.”

Ros enters, and everyone goes quiet. He can’t be excluded from the omega den—that would be too cruel. A few of the Freemont omegas, including Eve, have kept their friendships with him, and they cuddle up to him in the corner, giving him the warmth and security he needs. Donald tries to isolate himself on his visits, as he doesn’t feel worthy of company. More often than not, Will forces himself upon him, scooting up to lie beside him, putting his head on Donald’s shoulder. Slowly, Donald begins to join the group more and more as he sees that they accept him and aren’t holding grudges. Still, he is most shy and uneasy around Merlin, whom he betrayed.

When Will gets up, announcing he’s got to get home to make dinner, Phineas moves across the room to take his place beside Donald. Donald looks at him, a bit surprised, but then settles back down, and Phinny finds he likes the feeling of the man’s cool skin next to his. They drift off to sleep.

Will hadn’t meant to stay so long in the omega den, but it’s so fresh and new, so roomy and comfortable. Merlin has it decked out with lots of furs, reminiscent of their old den back east. Still, he looks forward to getting home to Leon and their pups, whom Allison is watching this afternoon. Will picks up his pace, knowing Leon will be hungry after being out in the fields all day. 

Distracted by his thoughts as Will is, he jumps a little when a figure steps out of the shadows, directly into Will’s path. Will stops abruptly, more than surprised to see Uallus.

“What—Uallus?” Will looks up at the towering alpha and takes a step back, heart rate automatically picking up, although he’s also a bit annoyed. Aren’t the days over when an omega can’t walk around unattended? There are plenty to go round now, after all, and Will isn’t in heat. “Ros is in the omega den if you’re looking for him.”

“It’s you I’m looking for,” Uallus answers, whitish eyes raking over Will in a way that immediately brings Will to his knees in submission.


	63. Looking for Information

Will doesn’t now what Uallus wants, but the vibes he’s putting off are enough to keep Will on his knees.

“I’ve been watching you,” Uallus tells him.

“Well, that’s not creepy at all,” Will replies, staring at Uallus’ kneecaps. “Would you mind taking a couple of steps back?”

Suprisingly, Uallus complies, and Will breathes a bit easier, although he finds he still can’t get off his knees.

“There aren’t omegas like you where I come from.”

“And exactly where is that?” Will asks, curiosity getting the best of him.

“Will?” a voice from behind puts an end to their conversation, and Will turns his head to see Donald coming down the path, face concerned. Uallus moves even farther away, and Will is able to get to his feet.

“What’s going on?” Donald asks when he reaches Will, brow furrowed. “Why are you on your knees, Will?”

“Good question,” Will answers.

Uallus is already heading toward the omega den.

“Did he hurt you?” Donald asks, touching Will’s arm.

“No. He was just putting off a lot of testosterone. Come on, let’s walk home together.” He takes Donald’s hand and they hurry along the path.

“Are you going to tell Leon about it?” Donald asks when they’re almost to the clearing.

“Hell, no!” Will looks at the other omega like he’s lost his mind. “Leon would go bat shit on him. I don’t want a fight. Uallus didn’t really do anything but tell me I’m not like the omegas _where he’s from_ , whatever that means. So I take it he’s not from here originally?”

“Declan’s parents found him in the woods when he was a baby,” Donald answers. “They thought he was blind at first, because of his eyes.”

“Then how the hell does he know what the omegas are like where he’s from? That doesn’t make any sense!” Will mutters moodily.

“He used to leave sometimes—go on treks, like Simon. Maybe he met up with some of them? Or maybe he’s done research.” Donald shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t see how he could know where he’s from, though. I don’t remember there being any information in his basket, but that was way before my time. It seems like I’ve heard somebody say he has markings…My parents might know.”

Will decides then and there he’s going to pay Donald’s family a visit.

It’s a week before he’s able to do so.

After Declan’s death, Bridey moved back in with the two elderly wolves to take care of them. Her sister, although young, mated, and lives on the other side of the ranch. As Donald tells it, Bridey was once bubbly and talkative, but since Declan, she’s now withdrawn and quiet. She nods at Will when he enters, serves tea to him and her parents, then leaves them alone.

“I hope I’m not bothering you,” Will tells the old couple sitting before him. “I just want to gain a little information about Uallus. I heard he was left in a basket as a baby?”

“Yes, out in the woods. Declan’s folks, Willa and Andrew, found him when on a moon run,” Donald’s father tells Will, hands shaking with age as he holds his tea cup.

Donald’s mother smiles. “Such an unpleasant-looking baby, with those white eyes. We all thought he was blind! And bald as an egg. He’s really rather handsome now, though strange looking. So good of him to mate with that trouble-making Ros.”

Will nods. “Do you recall if there was anything in the basket that told where he came from?” he asks.

“I don’t think so, do you remember, Tod?” She looks to her husband.

The old man shakes his head. “There was that tattoo over his groin…some kind of symbol, I think.”

“Do you remember what the symbol looks like?” Will asks. A pack tattoo would go a long way in explaining how Uallus knew his origins.

They both shake their heads, apologizing. They don’t recall anything else about Uallus, and Will has to endure an hour’s talk about irritable bowels for his curiosity.

He walks home, wondering how he can possibly manage to get a glimpse of the tattoo above Uallus’ groin.

~~~

“That was …amazing,” Gaius tells Burt as the man pulls out of him, every fiber of his being feeling like jelly. His hole is so stretched out, he wonders if it will ever shrink back into shape. Burt sags down beside Gaius, chest covered in sweat. Gaius reaches over and traces one nipple with his finger.

“It was pretty great,” Burt smiles. “I haven’t had sex in years. I wonder how long before we can go again?”

“Maybe a little nap first?” Gaius suggests, and Burt settles down in Gaius’ large bed. Gaius lies staring at the ceiling. These past few days with Burt have been wonderful, and Gaius has hardly had a moment to think about the book he’d been looking for, but suddenly something pops into his brain…a bag of things he left in the workroom…could it be buried in there?

He slips out of bed and quietly begins putting on his clothes.


	64. Cuddling and Chocolate Ice Cream

 

“Did you know Uallus means ‘foreigner’ in Gallic?” Will asks Merlin as they eat chocolate ice cream in the omega den.

“Why are you so hung up on him?” Merlin asks, annoyed. “He’s all you talk about.”

“The fact that he was found in a basket only serves to underline my suspicions that he’s from another planet,” Will states, licking his spoon. “He creeps me out.”

“Well, stay away from him, then. I’m just glad he’s keeping Ros too busy to try to molest my mate,” Merlin replies, putting his empty bowl aside and snuggling down in the furs. He’s glad Ros is with a few of the Freemont omegas in another room and not sitting there with them. Merlin had the house built with plenty of room for everyone to spread out. “How long is this alpha meeting going to last, anyway?”

“Would you two shut up?” Mordred grumbles from a few feet away. “I’m trying to read.”

“You are so cranky when you’re pregnant, Mordy,” Will accuses.

“You aren’t half my size, so shut it,” Mordred orders. “My ankles are swollen, and my back hurts. It’s fucking hot outside, and I can’t help but be cranky. The smell of that ice cream makes me want to puke, by the way—put this towel over it.” He tosses Will a dish rag, which lands in Will’s face.

“Merlin, why in the hell are you all covered in furs? It’s like an oven in here!” Mordred demands.

“I just ate ice cream!” Merlin shivers.

“Well, you’re making me hot just looking at you.”

“What’s the meeting even about?” Phineas wants to know from his spot on the couch.

“I heard Percy say it’s about some book Gaius found,” Donald puts in. “Lance, what’s wrong?”

Lance lies with his arm over his face, a pained expression around his eyes. “I have a headache,” he replies wearily.

“Your fingers are so magical on other people, can’t you cure your own pains?” Bronwen asks.

Lance shakes his head. “I can’t seem to, no. I wish I could.”

“Here, let me rub your head,” she offers, moving so that Lance’s shoulders and head are in her lap. She begins to massage Lance’s temples.

Outside, a crack of thunder shakes the house.

“Fuck, I hate thunder,” Phineas shudders. “Declan used to open all the windows and laugh like a lunatic when it thundered.”

Nim groans, rolling her eyes. “He was certifiable.”

“So what’s this book Gaius found supposed to be about?” Will asks no one in particular.

Merlin makes a sleepy noise and shrugs, cuddling closer to Will in the furs. Will absent-mindedly runs his fingers through Merlin’s thick, dark hair.

“Being pregnant has sapped you of all curiosity, Merlin.” Will gazes fondly down upon his friend’s face.

“It’s sapped me of everything.” Merlin's reply is muffled. “All I want to do is sleep.”

“Well I don’t feel that way. I want to know stuff…like where the hell is Uallus from? What’s the symbol he has tattooed above his groin? Which one of you can find that out for me?” He glances about expectantly.

“Don’t look at me.” Mordred makes a face.

“Maybe one of you can make friends with Ros and ask him,” Will suggests.

“Who would want to do that?” Nim sneers. “After what he did to our Merlin?”

Merlin smiles into the furs. “Yeah,” he agrees wholeheartedly.

“This is for ‘our Merlin,’” Will tells her. “Something’s going on. I can smell it.”

“That’s your feet, mate,” Mordred tells him, and everyone laughs.

“Laugh all you want, but I have a nose for trouble,” Will says.

Merlin raises his head, narrowing his eyes at Will. “Yes, and you’d better be careful. Leon’s going to have your hide.”

Will sticks out his tongue, and Merlin settles back down with a sigh, knowing his friend will never change.


	65. A Plan to Find Out

 

 

Donald’s thought about this a lot. He owes the Pendragon pack so much for what he did, and Will’s been really nice to him. He’s befriended him when most haven’t. Sure, everyone’s talked to him and welcomed him into the omega den, but Will’s gone out of his way to cuddle with Donald and to do things with him outside the omega den. Donald really wants to make Will smile.

This is why Donald heads over to Ros’s house the day after the cuddle session when Will expressed interest in finding out what Uallus’ tattoo looks like. He finds Ros in the kitchen baking. Uallus is out in the fields working; Donald already made sure of that.

“Hello,” Donald greets Ros, peeking into the open window above the sink.

Ros regards Donald warily. “What are you doing here?”

Donald shrugs. “Just out for a walk. I haven’t seen you much in a while.”

“Guess why,” Ros laughs humourlessly. He’s rolling dough out on the counter-- Donald manages to see from his less-than-desirable vantage point from outside the window.

“May I come in?”

Ros eyes him before nodding. Donald enters the front door and circles around to the spacious kitchen.

“This is a nice house. I like it. Our kitchen is a bit smaller,” he says, leaning against the counter and watching Ros roll the dough. “You like to bake?”

Ros nods. “Uallus likes cookies.”

“You get along well with him? I know he wasn’t your first choice.” Donald winces. He hadn’t meant to say that.

Ros chuckles, though. “You could say that. But he’s not bad, actually.” Using the rim of a glass, Ros begins cutting out round-shaped cookies and placing them on a greased pan while Donald watches.

“Eventually everyone will forgive you for what you did,” Donald finally says. “They’re starting to forgive me.”

“I don’t care if they do or not,” Ros say stubbornly. “It’s dumb. Arthur can have a million omegas if he wants. I did nothing wrong.”

“If he _wants_ ,” Donald stresses. “You knew he didn’t want another.”

“Could have fooled me, the way he was hard for me,” Ros smirks.

“That was a purely biological reaction,” Donald replies, having more and more of a difficult time continuing in a friendly manner. He bites the inside of his lip and schools his expression. “Anyway, you’re mated now. Do you plan to have pups soon?”

“Already going to, actually. Uallus scented them on me last night.”

“Congratulations! I’m really looking forward to mine.” Donald puts a hand on his rounded belly. “Percy is, too.” Donald runs different ways of introducing the subject of Uallus’ tattoo through his mind, all of them implausible. He wonders how he could possibly bring up the subject of nudity or Uallus’ groin or tattoos. He’s going to need to be on more intimate terms with Ros.

“I’m going up to the springs later to soak. It really feels good on my back,” Donald says. “I’m sure you aren’t having back problems yet, but it might ward them off. Want to go?”

“Thought it was dangerous to soak in hot springs when pregnant,” Ros comments, placing the cookie sheet in the hot oven.

“Oh, I’m not going to the hot springs, just the warm ones,” Donald says. “You’re right…it isn’t good for the pups to sit in the really hot ones.” He chuckles. “Besides, these days, you’re likely to run upon Gaius and Burt fucking if you go to the hot ones.”

“Ew,” Ros wrinkles his nose, but then smiles. “Okay. Swing back by when you’re on your way.”

Donald grins and promises to do so. Maybe naked in the springs, he’ll have a better opportunity to bring up naked mates and tattoos.

He tells Will about what he did at lunch as they sit side-by-side behind the main house.

Will’s eyes get wide and he leans over and kisses Donald on the cheek. “Genius!” he tells him, making Donald feel all warm inside with pride. “Where did you learn to be so sneaky?”

“I guess I had some practice,” shame washes over Donald, and Will looks apologetic. He hooks Donald’s neck with his elbow.

“See, even that sour experience came to some good. Now eat, so you’ll be clear-headed later.” Will releases him.

Leon sits down on the other side of Will and sets a plate of food between them to share.

“What are you up to?” Leon asks his omega.

Will’s face is the epitome of innocence. “What do you mean?”

Leon definitely looks suspicious. He sniffs at Will. Not detecting anything untoward, though, he begins to eat.

Will frowns. “What did you expect to find, exactly? The scent of another man? Thanks a lot!” He wiggles in his seat.

Leon growls.             

“You honestly think I’d let another alpha touch me?” Will keeps on, obviously pushing for a reason. Donald wonders if he’s horny, because it’s obvious by the looks the alpha’s sending Will that Leon is. Will’s forward manner is pushing his alpha in one direction only, and that’s toward the bedroom.

“You think I want some other man’s hands all over my body?” Will asks, his voice dipping low. “Bending me over?”

Leon growls again, this time in clear warning. They’re sitting at the last table, backed up to the house. Donald looks around. Today they are sitting in couples, and only he and Percy and Mordred and Cenred are around, the latter two pointedly ignoring the exchange.

“I swear, Leon…” Will continues, “it’s most insulting, you sniffing me like you expect to find some alpha’s come to me in the last few hours and rubbed his cock all over me, or had it in my mouth…”

Leon jerks, then. “Gods, man, when will you ever just _shut up_!” He has Will off his chair and behind the table in a matter of seconds.

“Just keep eating,” Percy advises Donald, although Donald finds the sounds of clothes being torn, flesh being sucked, and a certain orifice being invaded quite distracting and not conducive to good digestion. All the moaning and sighing and grunting and crying out in pleasure gets Donald hard and he glances at his alpha with undisguised longing.

Percy licks his lips. “I wasn’t very hungry anyway,” he says, dropping his fork and taking Donald by the hand. They head for their house and the privacy of their bedroom, where Donald immediately rids himself of clothes. Percy sits naked on the bed and Donald turns around, lowering himself backward onto his alpha’s very large cock…slowly, slowly, until he bottoms out. He lets out the breath he’s been holding. He’s so fucking full of Percy—it’s heavenly.

Percy reaches around and begins stroking Donald’s cock, and Donald groans at the sensation, leaning his head back. Percy whispers loving words, sprinkling kisses over Donald’s shoulders. After a moment, Donald begins to move, up and down, sliding on the thick rod spearing him. Percy helps, rocking his hips, and soon Donald’s lost in the feeling, his fat cock spurting over Percy’s hand.

The knot at the base of Percy’s cock is hard and stretches Donald’s rim, sending a second, more intense orgasm through him as it squashes his prostate. They tie.

“Now tell me what you’re up to,” Percy whispers into Donald’s ear, surprising the omega. He looks over his shoulder at his alpha.

“I saw you talking to Ros.”

Donald blinks, unsure of what to say.

“Just because you made a mistake doesn’t mean you have to make friends with the likes of him,” Percy tells him flatly. “You’re better than that.”

“It’s not that,” Donald says, shifting a little, then gasping at the roll of pleasure that washes over him. “I’m actually just trying to find out something for Will.”

“Oh, great,” Percy says. “Donald, that’s not a good idea.”

“Why not? He just wants to know what sort of symbol Uallus’ has for a tattoo.”

“I don’t think you should be friends with him.” Percy’s knot breaks and he gasps, beginning to pump hard into Donald’s arse. “It’s not a good idea,” Percy says again, teeth clenched. He drops the subject, putting all his energy into fucking Donald senseless.


	66. Boys' Night

 Arthur lifts the weights high over his head, Leon spotting him.

“What do you think of this book of Gaius’s?” Arthur asks between sets. “Do you really think it could be important?”

“I don’t know,” Leon replies, “but If we can’t find someone who can read the old language better than Gaius can, we’re not going to get anywhere with it. Let the old guy work on it if it makes him happy.”

Arthur puts the weights down and sits up. Across the room Cenred does bench presses. He looks their way. “It’s not like Gaius needs something to keep him occupied! He has Burt now. He really thinks this book contains answers to some of the weird things that’ve been happening in the past couple of years.”

“I know that, Cenred,” Leon snaps. “I was at the meeting.”

“Could have fooled me, the way your mind was wandering,” Cenred replies, getting up from the bench. “Of course, it probably takes all your mental faculties to keep your omega in line.”

Leon growls and starts forward, but Arthur stands, stopping him.

“You two stop bickering this instant!” he barks.

Odin puts down his set of weights. “We're all just hungry. Let’s go upstairs, and I’ll grill us all some steaks.”

“That sounds brilliant,” Percy groans, stopping his chest curls at the count of two hundred fifty.

They climb the steps of Arthur’s basement and walk out to the back patio where the sun sets on an early summer evening. Percy begins firing up the grill, and Arthur goes to get the steaks from the refrigerator.

The alphas strip and gather in the outdoor showers, washing off their sweat before lounging about undressed, compairing their impressive packages.

“How come Uallus isn’t here?” Percy asks, suddenly remembering the strange-looking alpha. “This would be the perfect opportunity to spy on his tatt.”

“Not you, too!” Leon groans. “I thought that was just my mate.”

“Well, your mate has my mate trying to find out,” Percy replies. “Didn’t you invite him, Arthur?”

“I always invite all the alphas, but that doesn’t mean they all want to come,” Arthur answers, spreading himself out on a lawn chair, hands behind his head. Only Percy’s cock is larger than Arthur’s, and that’s almost to his detriment; it’s so large, it’s difficult for any omega to handle and makes it necessary for Percy to give his mate more time between ruttings to recover.

“He probably isn’t comfortable coming around us after what Ros did,” Odin comments, putting on an apron so as not to get grease on his skin. He lifts a spatula.

“I, for one, am very interested in what Gaius can come up with reading this book,” Simon tells them. “If it really is an ancient book of wolf prophecy, it may have answers in it that explain why the Father Wolf changed Lance from beta to omega. And why Lance has these visions and headaches.”

“Visions?” Gwaine asks. “What visions?”

“Like the one of Mordred in the hole. The latest one's about a lot of men who look like Uallus.”

Arthur sits up. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

Simon shrugs. “I didn't know that it meant anything. I still don't.”

Arthur frowns and turns to Percy. “Did Donald find out about Uallus’ tattoo?”

“He’s gone with Ros to the springs several times this past week, but the subject isn’t an easy one to broach. He’s determined to find out, though.”

“I’d be happy if he did. I’d like to know about this pack Uallus comes from.”

Percy nods. “All right, Alpha.”

Silas, Egan, and Trevor show up and the conversation changes.

At the omega den, the omegas dip balls of rich bread into thick cheese fondue.

“I love omega night,” Nim sighs, one thick braid draped over her shoulder. Bronwyn giggles and nudges her with her foot, toes freshly painted a bright pink.

“Ugh! I smell that awful polish!” Mordred complains, holding his nose as he eats his bread. Bronwyn gives him the finger.

“I was never as bitchy as you when I was preggers,” she says.

Ewan is perched on the couch knitting a yellow baby blanket.

“Don’t you want some fondue, Ewan?” Erynn asks him.

“No, ugh. I’ll barf it for sure. How come none of you threw up all the time when you got pregnant?”

“I did a little,” Nim tells him.

“Don’t even show me the food,” Ewan groans, turning away from where they’re eating.

Merlin throws his paper plate away and goes to curl up between Will, Donald, and Lance in the corner.

“Move over,” he tells them. “I want to get in there.”

“So bossy,” Will complains, but scoots so that Merlin can squeeze in.

“Donald, you’re freaking huge,” Merlin peers at Donald's large stomach.

“I know! It’s because of Percy’s size.”

“Remember poor Freya couldn’t carry his pups,” Ewan says, then immediately whispers, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s true," Donald tells him. "I know they’re big. I wonder how many there are? If I have a lot, I don’t know if I can handle it. I’m a little scared.”

“You’ll do fine,” Will assures him, putting a hand on Donald’s arm. “Freya was such a tiny thing.”

Nim gets up. “Come on, Erynn. Let’s go lie down on a bed and have some girl talk.” They wander down the hall.

“Good riddance, I say,” Phineas stretches out in the free space the girls provided. “More fondue for us.”

“I think I’ll go read in the next room,” Bronwyn announces, standing and grabbing her book.

“Ros and Eve aren’t here, are they?” Mordred asks after a few moments.

“No, they stayed home with their mates. I don’t think Uallus or Egan wanted to go to the alpha party,” Merlin answers through a yawn.

“Leon always comes home so horny after these things,” Will says. “I think they work out, talk sex, and wank.”

Mordred barks out a laugh, crawling out of his chair to join the huddle on the floor. His eyes sag closed. “All that cheese has made me sleepy.” He rubs his round belly, closing his eyes.

Phineas and Ewan look at one another. Ewan puts down his knitting and crawls onto the floor. He and Phineas scoot up to Donald’s back. Will arranges the blankets around them all, moving closer to Merlin, who has turned over, forehead pressed to Lance’s, and now snores softly.

~~~

Merlin wakes, screaming, blankets sopping with blood.


	67. Double Vision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy, the mean girls/boys come out of the woodwork when I leave the cliffhangers!
> 
> Some of you had some interesting ideas about where this was going--one of you was right. I'd like to say I'm sorry for  
> leaving you like that last night, but I'm really not, lol. Guess that does make me evil!

_  
Blood everywhere. All his friends dead. Everyone dead. For miles, as far as the eye can see, the devastation is endless._

Merlin continues screaming and thrashing about, the bloody covers tangling about his limbs, refusing to let him go. He can hear himself screaming, but he can’t stop. He has to get to Arthur, to see about Arthur and their pups, but there’s so much blood everywhere, Arthur can’t possibly be alive…and hands hold him down, try to stab him, keep him away from Arthur as he screams for him.

“Merlin! Merlin, I’m here!” Finally, Arthur’s voice, Arthur’s hands enveloping him. Merlin reaches out, grabs hold, clutching, burying his face in the familiar scent of his alpha true mate.

“He’s shaking! What the fuck happened?” Merlin hears Arthur bark out, then more softly, for Merlin’s ears only, “Shhh, luv, I’m here now, you’re safe.” Strong arms tighten about him.

“A dream…” someone says.

“We were sleeping…”

“…woke up screaming.”

“…something about blood.”

“Merlin?” Arthur asks tentatively, but Merlin pushes his nose against Arthur’s neck, sucking in long breaths of air, scenting Arthur’s mating bite, hands clutching at Arthur’s broad back. He can still see all the blood in his mind, even though now he realizes it wasn’t real. It was real just a moment ago. So real. More real than any dream he’s had before. He quivers, and Arthur tightens his hold around him.

After a few moments of Arthur’s steady heartbeat against Merlin’s chest, Merlin ventures to open an eye and peer over Arthur’s shoulder. The rest of the omegas are with their mates at various spots around the room, all looking a bit shell-shocked. Lance looks the worst, and Merlin notices that Simon holds him tightly and whispers in his ear. Merlin recalls having his head pushed up against Lance’s as he fell asleep.

They’re all going to have questions for him, but Merlin doesn’t want to talk about it.

“Take me home, please Arthur,” Merlin whispers. “Now.”

“Of course,” Arthur replies, unwinding himself from Merlin and helping him up. No one bothers them, although all eyes turn their way. Merlin keeps his own eyes averted, holding onto Arthur’s waist as they exit the house. Outside the air is a little humid and it’s dark, the moon covered with clouds. Thunder rumbles in the distance.

They make their way across the long expanse of lawn to their house, a light burning in the kitchen for them. The patio is still strewn with half-eaten plates where the men left them when they heard Merlin screaming.

Collum meets them at the door, Anastasia in his arms, asleep. “Is everything all right?” he whispers fearfully.

“Yes,” Arthur assures him. “The children?”

“All asleep,” Collum says. “Stacy awoke at the noise, but I was about to put her back to bed.” Collum looks at Merlin questioningly, and Merlin musters a reassuring smile.

“Would you believe a bad dream?” Merlin gives  a self-deprecating chuckle. “I’ll have to lay off the fondue next time.”

Collum gives a sigh a relief and turns for the nursery.

Arthur leads Merlin to their room, shutting the door behind him. As he helps Merlin undress, he says, “That was no normal dream, Merlin.”

“No,” Merlin agrees. “I fell asleep with my head pressed to Lance’s. I feel sure he saw the same things I did.”

Arthur meets his eyes. “Want to tell me what that was?”

Fragments of his dream resurfacing in his mind, Merlin begins to shake, and Arthur pulls him close. “Nevermind. Get into bed.” He covers Merlin. “I’m going down to help clear the mess.” He peers out the window. “Gwaine and Leon have already started. I’ll be back shortly. Go on and go to sleep if you can.”

Merlin doesn’t ever want to sleep again. He lies staring about the dark room, trying not to think about the dream or its implications. He feels his babies moving inside him and wonders how many there are this time. One of them kicks a vital organ, and Merlin winces. He hears one of the alphas outside bark a laugh. Gwaine, Merlin thinks. He realizes now that all the alphas had been nude when they’d come to the omega den. So what Will had once said was right—they sat around naked together.

Merlin can’t help but smile, imagining all the well-hung alphas lounging about starkers, eating steak. What a picture.

A sound from the room next door has Merlin sitting up in curiosity. He takes an empty glass from the table beside him and puts it to the wall. Definite sounds of copulation from young Collum’s room… Merlin’s nightmare must have interrupted his date night, leaving Sigmund waiting in Collum’s bed while Collum sorted it out and tended to Stacy. From what Merlin can gather, Sigmund is bottoming, because Collum keeps commenting on how tight he is. Sigmund can’t talk, but he does grunt and sigh a lot, Merlin muses.

Merlin is so lost in his thoughts, he doesn’t notice Arthur slip back into the room.

“Merlin, really?” Arthur chides, and Merlin fumbles the glass, almost dropping it in his haste to get it upright and back on the bedside table.

“Just heard a noise,” Merlin says, red-faced. He settles back down in the bed as Arthur climbs in next to him.

“I’ll bet,” Arthur replies. “I take it Collum has company…unless you were listening to a wank session?”

Merlin gives Arthur a look. “I believe Sigmund is bottoming,” he tells his mate with as much dignity as he can muster.

Arthur laughs. “Oh, okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

“How did your party go?” Merlin asks, moving within the circle of Arthur’s arms. “Before I broke it up, that is.”

“Nice. We lifted weights. Ate steak.”

“Compared cocks,” Merlin adds.

“Um, I don’t recall that part,” Arthur corrects.

“But you do sit about naked.”

“It’s just more comfortable that way.”

“Is Percy really huge?” Merlin inquires, looking up into Arthur’s face.

Arthur slaps Merlin’s bare arse, and Merlin squeaks.

“None of your business,” he growls, and Merlin smiles slowly, kissing Arthur’s ribs.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you jealous. You’re more than enough for me.”

“I’m _not_ jealous, _Mer_ lin,” Arthur replies. He circles his finger around the outside of Merlin’s ear. After a moment, Arthur says quietly, “I’ve never been so scared…when I heard you screaming like that.”

“I’m sorry,” Merlin whispers.

They lie there in silence for a moment more before Arthur leans down and kisses Merlin, deeply, searchingly.

Merlin opens his mouth, tasting, answering.

Making love while pregnant is almost impossible face-to-face these days, so Merlin rolls to his side, lifting his leg for Arthur to hold while pushing in, wishing they could continue kissing, but enjoying the feeling of Arthur’s tongue in his ear as Arthur’s cock stretches him, filling him completely. Merlin wasn’t joking when he said Arthur is more than enough…he can’t imagine taking anymore. His rim couldn’t possibly widen more than it already has, tingling like a taut bow string, nerve endings screaming.

Merlin’s insides are stuffed full, too. Everything is Arthur, sliding in, sliding out, sliding in again; making Merlin crazy, taking him higher and higher, body undulating along with Arthur’s; Arthur’s hands on Merlin’s large, round belly; Merlin’ cock waving about, dripping cum.

“So good, Arthur, so good,” Merlin gasps, more cum spurting out as Arthur’s cock swipes his prostate in a long, smooth, seemingly endless stroke.

Arthur nibbles along the upper rim of Merlin’s ear with his front teeth, hips gracefully pumping. His hand under Merlin’s leg moves to stroke Merlin’s sac, and Merlin keens, needing release.

“Make me come!” Merlin cries, and Arthur does, as only Arthur can.


	68. Accident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains bdsm and a disturbing accident.

 

Gaius thumbs through the pages again, candle burning low.

“You’re going to burn the house down,” Burt tells him from the bed.

“I thought you were sleeping,” Gaius looks over his shoulder at his rumpled lover.

“You can use a light, Gaius. Or go into the other room.”

“Old habits die hard, I guess,” Gaius replies. “I’ve always been one for conserving energy. And I like being in here with you.” He looks back at his papers. They’d come home early from beta game night and, after an intense mutual wank session, Burt fell asleep and Gauis reached for the large book.

“I’ve found something I think I recognize,” Gaius tells him, and Burt gets out of bed, coming to stand beside Gaius, leaning to read over his shoulder.

Gaius points to a phrase. “I’m sure these words mean ‘reversing age.’” He looks up at Burt, whose face has gotten decidedly younger of late. Gaius hasn’t noticed it so much on himself, but he’s seen it happening on Burt. The man is definitely de-aging before his eyes.

Burt meets Gaius’ eyes. “What do you think it means that it’s happening to us?”

“I don’t know, but it’s driving me crazy!” Gaius shakes his head. “There’s got to be someone who can read the old wolf language. I only remember a bit that my grandfather taught me when I was a boy.”

Burt thinks. “They say there are elders living high up in the mountains that don’t belong to any packs.”

“I thought that was an old wives’ tale,” Gaius replies.

Burt shrugs. “You would think Simon would know, with all his traveling.” He straightens up. “Come to bed, Gaius.”

Burt’s half-erect cock is only inches from Gaius’ face, and Gaius leans in and licks at it, producing a long moan from Burt’s throat. Burt grabs hold of Gaius’ hair, still long but not as gray anymore, pulling him forward. Gaius eagerly takes more of Burt in, sucking at him, becoming hard between his legs.

“Oh, yes, take it…” Burt groans, fucking Gaius’ mouth. Gaius runs his tongue beneath Burt’s cock, saliva dripping down his chin, lust mounting.

When Burt’s hard as steel, he pulls out.

“Turn around,” he rasps, and Gaius does, shivering as he leans over his chair, feeling the cool air hit his arse as Burt lowers Gaius’ pyjama pants. Then Burt’s fingers are separating him and a wet, agile tongue flicks at Gaius’ hole, opening him up.

“Gods, Burt!” Gaius groans, gripping the back of the chair, muscles shaking as Burt continues to rim him mercilessly before slipping a wet finger inside.

It seems to take forever before Burt’s cock finally enters Gaius’ quivering hole, beginning a fast rhythm that rocks the chair and makes Gaius call out for more. Gaius reaches down and pulls at his own cock, bringing himself off just as Burt spurts into him, limbs stiffening.

“Gaius! Yes, yes,  yesss…” Burt grounds his groin into Gaius’ arse, balls pressing deliciously against Gaius’ and bringing more cum from both their cocks. To Gaius’ surprise, Burt leans in and bites down on his neck, bringing blood.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Burt says into his ear. “I suppose I should have asked. I got a little carried away.”

He pulls out, and Gaius turns. “Of course I don’t,” Gaius replies, holding Burt’s face tenderly. “Next time I’ll mark you.”

They kiss, then help one another to the bed, curling up like kittens. Gaius promises himself he’ll speak to Simon the following day.

~~~

Brionna files her nails, glancing over every so often to where Agravaine is tied to an X-shaped piece of wood, blindfolded and naked, a cock ring holding his erection and a ball gag in his mouth. Ronan holds a whip, and every so often he flicks it so that the sharp tip hits Agravaine in the nuts, making him jerk and whimper around the gag, spittle dripping. Uallus sits to the side, eyes pinned on Agravaine.

“Tighten his nipple clamps,” Uallus suggests.

Brionna gets up and saunters over to the tied man. She twists the little silver screws on the nipple clamps, squeezing Agravaine’s nipples painfully. He writhes against the wood, moaning around the gag. Ear plugs wedged in Agravaine’s ears keep him from being aware of how many people are in the room or when they approach him, which adds to his pleasure. There are several members of the pack who like to come and watch, Uallus included.

“So, Uallus,” Brionna says, sitting on the alpha’s lap. “How are things with Ros?”

“Not bad,” Uallus replies. “He’s trainable.”

“Hmm. Perhaps he can join our sessions here,” Brionna tilts her head, watching Ronan approach Agravaine from the side and run a finger down his rib cage.

“No,” Uallus shakes his head. “He’s carrying my pups.”

“Well, aren’t you the perfect daddy,” Brionna laughs, and Uallus abruptly pushes her off his lap and stands.

She narrows her eyes at him.

“I’ve seen you watching Will. That’s dangerous territory. Leon will rip you to shreds,” she tells him.

“I haven’t done anything,” Uallus replies. “No crime in watching.”

“If you make Leon jealous enough, he’ll hurt you, crime or not,” Brionna says. “So, this time are you going to undress, or are you just going to sit and watch like before?”

“Just watch.” Uallus takes his seat again and leans back.

Brionna nods and slips out of her robe, revealing a skin-tight leather uni-suit underneath. Falling to her knees in front of Agravaine, she takes his cock into her mouth, loving the way he gasps and trembles at the unexpected touch. Ronan cracks his wip, and Uallus’ hand moves to the bulge in his pants, spectral eyes riveted.

~~~

Most of the families have brought their grills out and the smell of cooking meat fills the air. It’s late, and Collum readies the children for bed, Will and Mordred’s joining Merlin’s in the nursery. Allison and Sigmund help, as do Clyde and Audrey.

“As soon as they’re all in bed, I’ll go get the pies from the main house,” Allison tells Collum as she changes Ben’s nappy and puts him in the crib with his brothers.

“Great! I love your apple pie,” Collum grins.

Sigmund comes running out of the bedroom, eyes wide, terror written all over his face, and Collum's stomach drops.

“What is it?” Collum grips Sigmund by the shoulders. Sigmund points frantically toward Collum’s bedroom before grabbling Collum’s hand and pulling him in that direction.

The window is open, and Sigmund runs for it. Collum follows, horrified when he sees that Asher has climbed out onto the roof.

Collum forgot that he left his window open earlier, and curses his stupidity. He knows that Sigmund has a terrible fear of heights, or he would have been out there already, hauling Asher back in. He also realizes that Sigmund can't call to the baby. Collum immediately swings a leg over the sill, stepping out onto the roof.

“Asher! Asher, baby, come here!” Collum calls, immediately attracting the attention of several people on the patio below.

Will glances up and immediately grabs Leon by the arm. “Oh, gods!” He points to the roof where their baby is crawling about. “Look!”

Leon curses and takes off for the house.

Will jumps up from his chair. Asher is too close to the edge. 

“Asher, no!” Will yells. “Stop!” Everyone else down below turns to look up to where Will is staring and gasps.

The little boy looks down.

“Da!” he says, rising up to a standing position and taking a step forward.

In a flash, Collum makes a lunge for the boy, grabbing hold of Asher’s shirt and pulling him back toward the window where Sigmund catches hold of him. At the same time, Collum loses his footing and topples backward, falling to the pavement below with a loud thump. Everyone stares for long seconds, dumbfounded, unable to believe what just happened. Will's eyes quickly return to the roof, where a shaking Sigmund pulls Asher inside just as Leon makes it to the window.

The crowd below rushes toward Collum as Will pushes his way into the house.


	69. Prophecy

Merlin stands rooted to the spot, watching the pandemonium around him. Sigmund passes Will going in the house as he barrels out, stopping feet away from Collum and standing forlornly, his hand covering his mouth. People are crying, clutching one another. Someone runs to fetch Gaius’ bag, and Arthur comes forward, gingerly touching Collum’s neck.

“There’s no pulse,” Arthur says quietly, and Merlin groans. “No!” It’s horrible seeing Collum lying there so still, his neck turned at an impossible angle.

The window above shuts. Bronwyn wraps her arms around Sigmund, who begins openly crying, strangled, animal-like sounds coming from his mouth.

“No, no, no!” Merlin keeps saying, looking around him at all the shocked faces, unable to process what just happened in a matter of minutes.

Gaius moves across the patio at a surprisingly rapid pace and kneels by Collum.

“There’s no pulse,” Arthur repeats to him. Gaius feels for himself, and nods. Merlin moves toward Arthur, hiding his face for a moment in his alpha’s neck, glad for the strong arms that immediately envelope him.

“Lance,” Gaius calls. “Come here.”

Lance gives Simon a look of confusion, but moves away from him to kneel beside Gaius next to Collum’s body.

“Put your hands on him,” Gaius instructs.

“But Gaius…” Lance says. “He’s…he’s gone.”

“I know. Just do it.”

Lance licks his lips, reaches out his hands, and lays them on Collum’s still chest. Merlin bites his lip, watching.

“Now take his head and move it into the position it should be in,” Gaius tells Lance, voice authoritative, and Lance does so, his brown eyes intense.

Merlin isn’t the only one who winces at the cracking sound that breaks the silence, and when Lance brings his hands away, they are shaking. Without Gaius’ prompting, he places them over Collum’ heart and closes his eyes.

Sigmund pulls away from Bronwyn and comes forward, coming to sit by Collum’s head. Gently, he places his hands on the dead man’s temples.

Merlin’s eyes are glued to Collum’s, which stare sightlessly up at the sky. Merlin remembers them full of life and love, and a shiver runs through him. Merlin feels responsible. If he’d never asked Will and Mordred to let their children sleep here…if he’d never suggested the cookout…if he’d never asked for a nanny…

A collective gasp from the group around him brings Merlin’s attention back to Collum, whose formerly sightless eyes miraculously now blink with life.

“What…” Merlin begins. Arthur has let go of him and stepped forward.

“How can this be?” he demands, staring dumbfounded. Gaius gets to his feet, and Arthur grabs him by the arm. “How can this _be_?”

~~~

An hour later it’s only Arthur, Merlin, Gwaine, Leon, Gaius, Lance, and Simon sitting at the table in Arthur’s kitchen, everyone else having gone home. Collum is at Gaius’ with Sigmund and Burt looking after him, but he seems perfectly fine other than for a few scrapes and bruises.

“How did you know?” Arthur asks Gaius again.

“It was only speculation,” Gaius tells him. “I know enough of the old language to catch some words from the book of prophecy.”

Arthur sits back. He wasn’t sure before that he believed that’s what the book really was, but how can he argue now?

“And why did you think Lance was the one to lay hands on Collum?” he asks.

“It was obvious.” Gaius replies. “He’s the one who’s been giving the rejuvenating massages. He’s even taught Sigmund to do so.”

“And just exactly what does _that_ mean?” Gwaine questions. “Sigmund is a beta and of no relation to Lance whatsoever.”

Gaius shrugs. “I have no idea. I’m afraid I don’t know much of anything.” He turns to Simon.

“I wanted to ask you, but I’ve not had the chance…in your travels, have you heard of elders living in the high places? Some are said to still know the old language.”

Simon nods. “I’ve heard of them, yes. I’ve never sought them out, though. I really thought them only legend.”

Gaius looks at Arthur. “If we could get someone to translate this book for us…perhaps we’ll understand more. But I believe that Lance’s transformation has much to do with it.”

Arthur stares down at the table before bringing his eyes to Merlin’s bright blue gaze.

Merlin, in turn, looks at Lance, who speaks.

“The night Merlin woke screaming in the omega den, he and I had a double vision. His head was pressed to mine, which is why I believe he had it, too. Later, when we compared, it was exactly the same. It involved much blood-shed of our pack—an invasion of sorts. It wasn’t specific, but it was horrible and complete. There’s no doubt in either of our minds that if it comes to pass, it means devastation for us all. Something terrible may be coming. I feel an urgency.” He turns to Arthur. “Alpha, someone must translate this book.”

Arthur nods slowly. “We will send someone for an elder immediately.”


	70. Necessary Arrangements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Busy with my theme-of-the-month challenge and RL yesterday. Got up late this morning! Here's an update.
> 
> Cleaned up the last four chapters last night...I must have spelled Gaius wrong about fifty times! I'd been in such a hurry these past few days. Sorry! Some of my sentences were awful, too.

It takes several weeks for Arthur to find someone. The task isn’t easy—the most appropriate people are either with pups or are awaiting their mates to have pups. The trek may take weeks and could be treacherous. Egan comes to Arthur and offers to go. Arthur is dubious.

“I know you don’t trust me after what happened, but that’s one of the reasons I want to go—to prove my loyalty,” Egan tells him. “It was stupid of me to listen to Ros.”

“I can’t afford to have you prove yourself at the expense of the entire pack,” Arthur replies. “This is too important. You may regret what you did, but it showed a lack of forethought in you that I can’t afford to risk on something as important as this.”

Egan lowers his eyes, disappointed, but he doesn’t argue, simply nods and leaves.

Arthur growls and grumbles for the rest of the day. “What in hell am I going to do?” he asks Gwaine later as they fling hay onto a truck. Sweat cascades down Arthur’s back and his muscles burn from exertion.

“Who would you send if pups weren’t in question?” Gwaine asks.

Arthur glances at him. “Simon or you. Preferably both.”

Gwaine nods, throwing another bale. “Then we’ll go.”

Arthur shakes his head. “No, Gwaine. Phineas will have his pups before you return.”

“And Nim will be here for him.”

“And what about Lance? He’ll have no other mate there for him.” Arthur throws another bale and stops, hands on hips, head lowered, chest heaving.

He wipes the sweat from his eyes with his upper arm and squints into the sun before looking again at Gwaine, who has secured the hay and signaled the driver to go ahead and take it to the barn. The two men begin to walk that way.

“A wise man once told me that running a pack leaves no room for sentimentality,” Gwaine says, pushing his sweaty hair away from his face.

Arthur looks at him, surprised. “It isn’t nice to throw my own words back in my face, Gwaine.”

Gwaine meets Arthur's gaze. “You’ve changed since you mated, Arthur.”

Arthur stops, shoulders moving back and lip curling, even as his eyes show uncertainty. “You’re saying I’m no longer a fit ruler? Go on, as my second, I expect totally honesty from you. Perhaps you’d like to fight for my title?”

Gwaine throws his head back and laughs, and Arthur growls, low and menacing, quickly sobering his second, who takes a hurried step backward.

“Fuck, no, Arthur! I’m not suicidal!” Gwaine rushes to tell him. “Most of the changes in you have been for the good. If you’d never met Merlin, this pack would be ruled like a military camp, and we’d all be miserable as fuck. Look, no one appreciates more than I that you’re trying to allow me to stay home with my mate while he has pups. But it isn’t feasible in this instance, Arthur. I need to go, and so does Simon, although I hate it for him. Suck it up and send us on our way. Perhaps we’ll be lucky and find the elders quickly.”

Arthur gives Gwaine a disbelieving look. “You know that won’t happen, and even if you do…it’s not like one of them will agree to come here with you. He’ll translate the book, maybe. But you’ll have to write it all down. That’ll take time. A lot of it. And that’s another thing---I don’t know if I can afford that much time without both you and Simon.”

“You’ll have Percy, Leon, and Cenred, perfectly good replacements,” Gwaine assures him, smiling. He puts a hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “The sooner the better, Arthur.”

Arthur looks away, considering, and then nods. “You’ll leave at first light.”

~~~

“Well, thanks a bunch for convincing Arthur you have to go away,” Phineas pouts that night in their bed.

Nim kisses his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Phin, I’ll take care of you and the pups.”

“I know that, Nim,” Phineas tells her plaintively, “but I just wanted Gwaine here to see them when they’re born.”

Gwaine looks at Phineas sadly. “Don’t think I don’t want that, too.” He kisses Phineas lovingly. “But Arthur had this important decision to make, and I had to help him. He trusts me, and he wouldn’t send me on his own." Gwaine lifts Phineas' chin with his fingers. "Please understand.”

Finally Phineas sighs and nods. “I do.”

Gwaine smiles and kisses Phineas again, deeply this time.

“I’ll sleep with the children tonight and give you two some time alone,” Nim whispers.

“No,” Phineas breaks away from Gwaine’s kiss. “You’ll miss him, too. Stay.”

She smiles, and Gwaine kisses her, then she shares a kiss with Phineas, tongues mingling. Her hand moves down to rest over his full belly. Gwaine watches them kiss for a while, fondling Nim’s full breasts before mounting her. She gasps into Phineas’ mouth, biting at his lips. Phineas pulls away and turns his body on the bed so that he can lick between her legs and at Gwaine’s balls while she lowers her head and sucks Phineas off, her head resting on the mound of his pregnant belly.

Afterward, they lay twined in one another’s arms, none of them sleeping much before the sun peeks over the horizon, and it’s time for Gwaine to head out.

~~~

“I’m worried about leaving you,” Simon tells Lance, kissing him before his knot breaks and he trembles, releasing his seed into his pregnant mate. Lance lies on his side, belly resting on the mattress. He isn’t very large compared to the other pregnant omegas, and wonders if he carries only one pup. He can feel it doing somersaults inside him.

“I’ll be okay.”

“You’ll have the pups without me,” Simon mourns as he catches his breath and pulls out, leaning down to lovingly lick Lance clean.

“I know,” Lance sighs. “I wish it didn’t have to be this way. Arthur and Merlin want me to move in with them until you return.”

“And I want you to,” Simon tells him firmly between licks. “Please promise me you will. I’ll feel much easier if I know you’re there with them.”

Lance turns and looks up at Simon. “Alright. I promise.” He pulls Simon down for a long kiss, tasting a mixture of his own oestrum and Simon’s seed on his mate’s lips. “The sun is up. Gwaine will be waiting.”

Simon nods resolutely and slides out of bed.


	71. Full Moon at the River

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pregnancy and running under the full moon don't mix.

The days blend one into another. Merlin feels like his back is breaking most of the time and has to lie down at increasing intervals. At the first full moon after Simon and Gwaine leave, the pregnant omegas spend the evening lolling in the river bed while the others run through the woods, their pregnant bellies jutting out like round, white stones in the water.

“I feel ridiculous,” Will mutters. “I should be out there in the woods, running with the rest of them. I’m not that far along.”

“You’re obviously carrying a multitude this time,” Merlin comments, observing his friend with a critical eye. Will has truly blossomed in this past month. “Either that, or they’re huge.”

“I had four last time!” Will exclaims. “How many is this? Gods! And I’m so horny all the time!”

“Me, too,” Mordred complains, rolling over in the water to face them. “I think Cenred is starting to avoid me.”

Merlin laughs outright at both Mordred’s pout and the ridiculous notion that Cenred would ever avoid sex with Mordred. “You’re just being paranoid. If Cenred were here right now, he’d take you in front of us all.”

Will wrinkles his nose. “Gods, yes.” He looks over his shoulder in mock fear. “Fuck, be quiet—he might hear you and come crashing through the forest.”

Mordred giggles shamelessly. “I wish he would. I can barely reach my own pecker these days.”

In the distance they hear howling, one call answering another until a cacophony of wolf howls sound through the night, sending a shiver racing down Merlin’s spine. He thinks he picks Arthur’s out from the rest.

“I miss Simon so much,” Lance suddenly says, hands on his small mound. He’s the farthest along of all of them but has the smallest bump.

“I know you, do,” Merlin replies sympathetically. Lance has taken the room on the other side of Merlin and Arthur’s, and sometimes late at night, Merlin can hear Lance crying. One night he’d felt so sorry for him, he’d gone and climbed into bed with Lance, only to have a disgruntled Arthur come and drag him out an hour later, unhappy to have woken up alone. At least Merlin had gotten Lance to fall asleep. If Merlin were to be honest with himself, he’d have to admit that being so close to Lance made him edgy. Ever since the night of the shared dream, he didn’t like to touch the other omega, fearful of a repeat experience.

“I miss Gwaine, too,” Phinny replies. “But I have Nim, so that’s some comfort.” He moves closer to Lance, wrapping his arms around him, the warm river water lapping about their nude bodies. Lance lays his head on Phineas’ shoulder, and Merlin thinks what a handsome pair they make, both olive-skinned and dark-eyed.

The moon rises higher above them, fat and round, pulling at the omegas’ primal instincts, causing them to chuff and whine. Merlin leans his head back, wetting his hair in the water, watching the clouds scuttle across the sky, riding a high wind. He feels his cock rise, the air teasing it, and he lets out a howl from deep in his belly, a call to his true mate. He suddenly wants Arthur there more than anything, for if Merlin can’t run through the woods, he’ll fuck ‘til he’s exhausted. His fellow omegas take up the chorus, calling to their own mates. All but Lance, who moves off to sit alone in the rushes, hand pumping his cock.

Merlin is too caught up in his instincts to worry much about his friend, and when Arthur appears, his white wolf form seeming to glow in the dark night, Merlin trembles in need.

Arthur shifts, standing gloriously naked, cock erect and huge. Merlin feels proud as Arthur displays his assets for the other omegas to see. That’s his mate—the Alpha—gloriously beautiful with that gorgeous cock that’s pointing straight at Merlin. Merlin doesn’t fail to notice Ros’ lustful, jealous gaze. Other alphas gather around Arthur, coming out of the woods breathing heavily from their run. They await Arthur to make the first move.

Arthur growls, a low, toe-curling noise that makes Merlin’s balls tighten. With some difficulty, Merlin pulls himself to his knees, but not before giving Arthur the sexiest, cheekiest grin he can muster. He waggles his bare arse in the air, uncaring that every alpha in the pack is looking at it under the light of the full moon. He spreads his legs in invitation, feeling a well-spring of oestrum rise up and pour from his now-gaping hole.

Arthur growls again and moves forward, pausing to sniff and lick at Merlin’s arse, making Merlin wiggle and whine, body tingling in the knowledge that all eyes are upon them. Finally, Arthur drapes himself over Merlin, and Merlin keens at the feel of the steely rod entering his body. He looks up at the moon and the keen turns to howl, Arthur’s howl joining his, and the howls of the pack mixing in. Then Arthur begins to rut him, and Merlin’s lost in pleasure. All around them the others begin to fuck, sounds of slapping flesh, grunts and moans filling the air.

Beside Merlin, Percy thrusts into Donald, hand on the omega’s shoulder, head thrown back in ecstasy. Merlin closes his eyes and rides the sensation of Arthur’s slick dick sliding over his prostate over and over again. Soon he’s coming, cock skimming the water. “Arthur!” he cries out, jerking as Arthur knots him.

The full moon looks benevolently upon the pack.

~~~

“Stop making those awful slurping noises,” Merlin tells Will over tea in Merlin’s bright kitchen.

“I’m not slurping!” Will protests. “You are just incredibly testy lately.”

Merlin sighs. “Maybe. Sorry. I’m just…hot all the time. Uncomfortable.”

Will nods. He knows the feeling. “So you say Sigmund and Collum are mated? How did I miss this?”

Merlin smiles. “Yeah. Right after Collum’s accident, Sigmund mated him. It was really sweet. I was afraid I was going to lose my nanny, but we all talked about it, and Sigmund just moved in here. You probably didn’t notice, because he’s here all the time anyway. Arthur will announce it at the next pack meeting.”

“Surprised he didn’t announce it after the full moon run,” Will replies innocently.

“Oh,” Merlin looks away. “The full moon was too…uh…well.” Merlin clears his throat and blushes a little. “We had other things on our minds.”

Will laughs at his friend’s discomfort, recalling Merlin wiggling his arse in front of the pack.

“Anyway,” Merlin continues. “We knocked a wall down and made their bedroom bigger.”

“Glad it all worked out,” Will replies, finishing his tea. “I told Leon he has to find us a nanny. I just know I’m having eight or nine pups this time.”

“You really do need someone,” Merlin tells him. “Don’t let Leon wiggle out of it, or give you the sad eyes.”

Will grins. “He really does do that sometimes.”

Merlin nods, doing an impersonation that is so spot-on, the two of them crack up laughing, Merlin snorting his tea up his nose.

Lance comes down the stairs, and Will immediately can tell something’s off. “Lance?”

“I think I’m going into labour,” Lance says, looking a bit sick.

Merlin immediately sobers, jumping up and knocking over his cup. “We’ll go to the omega den. Will, get Gaius.”

Will heads for the door. “We’ll meet you there.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	72. A Birth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally got up late again this morning, or this chapter would have been much longer! I've been feeling a bit low and blah, lately. Just in the doldrums. Hopefully things will pick up. Work is exhausting.

Merlin dislikes births. They’re supposed to be joyous, but they frankly scare him. Omegas can die giving birth, and Merlin knows Gaius isn’t going to save them with his vague knowledge of plants.

He puts on a courageous face, however, for Lance, and follows Will’s lead in keeping their friend distracted during the long hours of labour. Other omegas are in and out during the next two days. Merlin goes home very little—only enough to make certain his mate and children remember him. Arthur doesn’t like it, but he knows that Merlin’s place as Vixen of the pack means that he feels responsible for all the omegas, and Arthur won’t interfere with that. Instead, he comes and spends nights with Merlin in the omega den rather than sleep without him. For that, Merlin is grateful; he hates sleeping without Arthur. In fact, he’s not sure if it’s even physically possible.

By the third day, Lance is in so much pain, Merlin is worried sick. Gaius insists that the pups are ready to come out. He’s administered a draught to help soothe Lance, and the omega’s eyes droop with exertion as he goes in and out of consciousness, sometimes talking out of his head.

“Get Sigmund,” Gaius tells Nim, who immediately runs from the den, returning in short order with the mute boy.

“Sigmund, I want you to lay hands on him,” Gaius orders. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before.”

Sigmund approaches the bed where Lance lies writhing half out of his mind with fatigue, and puts his hands on Lance’s abdomen, palms pressing gently against hot skin. Lance moans, but stills against the sweat-soaked sheets, breathing easing a little at Sigmund’s gentle, yet firm, touch.

Sigmund then puts his hands higher on Lance’s bulge, moving the mound around a bit, positioning the bundle within. Lance’s eyes pop open and he cries out, legs falling open.

“Shift into wolf, Lance, and then push,” Gaius orders, and Lance obeys. It isn’t too long until a pup falls onto the sheet, and Merlin takes it up immediately, rubbing it in a towel until it softly gasps in air and makes a bleating sound.

“A boy, Lance!” Merlin smiles widely, relieved that the pup looks healthy.

Lances whines, lifting his large wolf head from where it was resting on his forepaws.

Gaius inserts a finger into Lance and feels around. “I don’t think there’s any more,” he tells him. “You were small…it’s no surprise.” He cleans Lance up a bit and makes him comfortable.

“You did well, Sigmund,” Gaius says after a moment, and Sigmund ducks his head, shrugging.

“Lance definitely passed some healing ability onto you somehow.” Gaius studies the young man, heavy brows lowered, as though really taking him in for the first time.

Merlin hands the pup to Lance, who begins to lick him clean before nursing him.

“His coat looks a bit like Simon’s,” Will observes, and Merlin agrees, pulling a chair up to sit down. His back aches terribly, and he’s so very, very tired. The next thing he knows, Arthur’s gently shaking his shoulder.

“Wake up, sleepy head! You’ve fallen asleep.”

Merlin looks about the room, surprised to find that it’s dark. Lance is asleep in the bed, still in wolf form with his pup curled up next to him.

“Let’s go to bed in the next room,” Arthur whispers, pulling Merlin up from the chair and leading him out.

“I don’t remember falling asleep,” Merlin yawns, allowing Arthur to undress him and nudge him into the bed.

“You’re exhausted,” Arthur admonishes. “Go to sleep now.” He presses up to Merlin’s back, kissing Merlin’s neck lovingly, and Merlin’s half asleep already.

~~~

A week later Merlin thinks his house never seemed so full. He’s huge, and Arthur seems to always be working, and Merlin’s cranky. Lance’s pup is an angel, though, very tiny and always sleeping. Certainly no problem. Lance dotes on his son, naming him Simon Jr. and at least twice a day by Merlin’s count looking off with sad eyes in the direction that Simon and Gwaine disappeared weeks ago.

No matter how tired Arthur is after a day in the fields, he brings Merlin a bag full of the sweet berries he loves and feeds them to him one by one while caressing Merlin’s huge belly and listening to their children prattle about their day, showing Arthur the drawings they’ve made and climbing onto his back. For one who is usually such an impatient clot pole in most matters, Arthur is the epitome of patience with his family, Merlin thinks fondly, drifting off to sleep in his alpha’s arms, as he’s prone to do most evenings these days.  Arthur reads to the children about rabbits that wear clothes and have a town of their own, the words weaving into Merlin’s dreams.

When Collum finally comes to put the kids to bed, Merlin rolls over with a sigh and places a kiss on Arthur’s curved mouth.

“Why are you smiling?” Merlin asks, eyes fluttering open.

“Just happy, I guess,” Arthur replies, eyes incredibly blue against the white sheets of their bed.

“You like having a big, fat mate and a hundred pups, do you?” Merlin asks, brow arching.

In answer, Arthur undresses Merlin and kisses every inch of him until he quivers with need. When Merlin is seated on his cock, huge belly looming between them, Arthur tells Merlin how very much he loves him and their children and their life together, and if some tears escape Merlin’s eyes as he balances himself while Arthur pumps up into him, he attributes them to the uncontrollable emotions of pregnancy.


	73. And Another Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome, new readers, I can't believe you want to take on this long thing!

One hot summer’s day when Merlin and Mordred take a break from culling weeds from the garden and sit under the shade of the wide oaks, Merlin comments, “I haven’t wanted to say anything to Will, but have you noticed the changes in Clyde?”

Mordred nods. “He looks like he’s fifteen rather than, what? Nine?”

Merlin agrees. “It’s really odd. Audrey hasn’t aged this way, has she?” He continues regarding the boy. Wolf males develop more rapidly than humans, but Clyde’s development is double what it should be and frankly, really, really weird.

“Omega, obviously,” Mordred muses, watching the boy as he moves the lunch chairs back to the shed, muscles rippling under the tanned skin of his arms as several of the older teen alphas who have stopped their daily chores to drink from the water station stand and watch, noses surreptitiously scenting the air.

“Yes,” Merlin says. “Will didn’t want anyone to know, but I think the secret’s out now. You don’t think Clyde could be in heat, do you?”

Mordred frowns. “Very possibly nearing it, the way they’re reacting to him.”

Merlin’s wondering if he and Mordred in their present condition could possibly get Clyde to the safety of the omega den if they had to. He looks down at their rounded bellies and sighs, doubting it very much. He holds his hand up over his eyes and looks west, where he last saw Will, and frowns.

“Is that Uallus standing several feet behind Will?” Merlin asks.

Mordred turns and looks, squinting into the early afternoon sun. “I think so. That guy’s so creepy. Why is he always so close to Will, anyway?”

“I think he has a thing for him,” Merlin replies, cocking his head. “Admittedly, there’s something about Will when he’s pregnant, don’t you think? He’s so round and…sweet.”

“Will, sweet?” Mordred shakes his head. “I don’t see it.” He gives a low, sharp bark, continuing to watch Uallus. “Leon needs to beat that guy’s arse. Did Will ever get a look at his tattoo?”

Merlin shakes his head. “Not really. Only a glimpse. He said he’d have to really stare at it to figure it out, and he’s not about to get into a situation where he can do that.” Merlin laughs. “I told him I was proud of him, because not so long ago, he probably would have done.” He continues watching Will, and when he sees Uallus appear ready to advance on him, Merlin rolls to his side and gets to his knees.

“What the fuck are you doing, Merlin?” Mordred makes a face, laughing. “Presenting to me? I don’t want Arthur on my case.”

“No, you dolt, I’m trying to get up!” Merlin struggles to his feet with the help of the tree trunk. “Uallus is cornering Will. Come on.” He holds out his hand to Mordred, who almost topples Merlin in his attempt to rise. Once they’re both vertical, they set out toward the far fence line where Will’s standing watching Leon and the others work out in the field, Uallus approaching from behind.

Uallus has just said something to Will, causing him to turn with surprise when Merlin and Mordred make it over there, huffing and puffing with exertion. Uallus looks less than pleased to see them, but a smile spreads over Will’s face.

“Will, we need you over at the main house,” Mordred tells him, out of breath.

Merlin nods, unable to speak after walking so fast, taking Will’s hand and tugging him along.

“Thanks for that,” Will tells them as they walk away from Uallus. “I didn’t see him coming.”

“He’d been… staring at you for a… while,” Merlin informs his friend, rubbing at the stitch in his side.

“Ew,” Will shudders. “I don’t know why he keeps doing that.”

“Perhaps you’d better tell Leon so he can put a stop to it,” Mordred suggests.

“I don’t think so,” Will replies. “He’ll be so angry, he’ll go over there and beat the shit out of Uallus. I don’t think a little staring warrants that, do you?” He sighs, moaning a little as he waddles along. “He can’t really be interested in me…not when I’m like _this!_ It’s got to be something else. Maybe he wants to ask me something, but can’t find the words?”

“Like what, the recipe for your chicken pot pie?” Merlin teases, and Will makes a lewd gesture.

“So are you going to wait until he does something?” Mordred asks, exasperated. He wipes the sweat from his brow.

“Who says he’s going to do anything?” Will says. “Hey!” He stops dead in his tracks. “Are those alpha brats staring at Clyde? That one punk has a woody!”

Merlin clears his throat. “I think maybe Clyde’s going into heat, Will.”

Will turns to gape at Merlin. “He’s only nine-years-old!

“Have you taken a good look at him lately?” Merlin asks. “He’s matured incredibly. “It’s like he’s aged five or six years. He doesn’t even act his age. Look at him flirt!”

The three men watch Clyde as he sends the alphas coy looks beneath lowered lashes.

“Oh, fuck!” Will mutters under his breath. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but unless you want some grandchildren, I suggest we get him to the omega den,” Mordred suggests, sniffing the air. Merlin catches the sudden sweet scent of omega pheromones on the breeze and nods his agreement.

“Clyde!” Will calls to his son, and the boy turns. “Come over here!”

As soon as they hit the darkness of the omega den, Clyde complaining the entire way, Mordred begins stripping his clothes off.

“What the fuck?” Merlin asks.

“I’m hot as hell,” Mordred groans, sprawling naked on a rug.

“Gods, Da, do I have to be in here with you three?” Clyde asks, throwing himself onto the couch.

“You were about to be gang raped by three alphas out there!” Will yells.

“Do you really think they like me?” Clyde asks eagerly, sitting up.

“I’m with Mordred,” Merlin says, pulling his clothes off. “Will, check the air conditioner. Turn it to single digits if you have to.”

“There’s a wet spot the size of Kentucky on Clyde’s trousers,” Mordred observes, and, indeed, Merlin notices that, along with the fact that Clyde’s getting a bit antsy.

“Gods, I’m not ready for this!” Will groans.

“We can take care of it,” Merlin tells him.

“You’re right; it _is_ hot in here,” Clyde says suddenly, beginning to strip. “Man, I feel like my skin’s too small for me!”

Will backs toward the door. “Are you sure?”

Merlin nods, motioning him out.

Phineas appears from a back bedroom, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “What’s going…oh.” He sees Clyde drop to his knees. “How time flies.”

“Have you seen that box of toys?” Merlin asks Mordred.

“Gotta be around here somewhere,” Mordred replies, trying to get up. “Is there possibly an omega around this place who can move faster than a snail?”

Phineas goes to the door and makes several yipping noises, and soon Nim and Bronwyn appear, asking what the matter is.

Within minutes, Nim produces the box of toys and has a moderate-sized plug inside Clyde while Bronwyn strokes his hair and talks to him about first heat.

Merlin’s back hurts.

“You want to lie down for a while?” Phineas asks him, concerned. “I can see you’re in pain, so don’t try to hide it.”

“I want to be at home,” Merlin says with a bit of a pout. “It might seem silly, I know…”

“It doesn’t,” Phinny assures him. “I’ll walk you.” He helps Merlin get back into his clothing.

Outside, it’s hot as ever, Merlin thinks. Will’s hanging about, wringing his hands, and he rushes over to the two omegas when they appear in the doorway.

“He’s fine,” Merlin assures him.

“Well, what’s wrong with _you_?” Will asks, peering at his friend’s tightened face.

“Just tired. My back is killing me,” Merlin winces. “I want to go home. I want Arthur.” Suddenly, Merlin feels like a little kid. He almost wants to cry.

“Want me to call him for you?” Will asks, getting ready to let out a howl.

“No!” Merlin says quickly. “That would be silly, and it would alarm him.” The three begin to walk toward Merlin’s house. 

As they approach, Merlin can tell something’s off.

“What’s going on?” he asks, but Phineas and Will are as bewildered as he is.

When they get inside the front door, Merlin’s arrested by the sight of Simon sitting on the couch with Lance and their new baby.

“Simon!” Will bellows, and the couple turns toward them, Simon’s green eyes full of happiness and awe at his new son, and Lance looking over the moon. Arthur appears from the back hall, and upon sighting Merlin being escorted between Will and Phineas, he swiftly moves toward them, taking Merlin’s face between his hands and blocking Merlin’s vision with his worried countenance.

“Merlin, what’s wrong? Are you all right?”

Merlin opens his mouth to assure Arthur he’s just fine, then promptly collapses in Arthur’s arms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	74. Teenagers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had three things go wrong with Word this morning! Lost everything once. Arg!

“Why is it always my fault?” Will asks. “I was only helping him home.”

“Because you are always getting into trouble,” Arthur’s voice is so tense, Merlin wants to reach out and touch him, but he can’t; he’s trapped under a dark blanket of some sort that makes moving impossible--only he knows it isn’t a real blanket, because it’s too hot for that. This blanket’s invisible and smothering and keeps Merlin pinned in place.

Cool hands touch his face. Merlin’s eyelids are heavy. He tries to open them, but they won’t budge. So many voices around him, one of which belongs to Simon. How did he get back here, and where is Gwaine?

Merlin feels things going on outside of him, like the cool cloth placed on his forehead and the fingers squeezing his hand that he can’t quite get up the energy to squeeze back at the moment. A breeze from the window and the soft, familiar sheets on his and Arthur’s bed. He also feels things inside him—the bumps and rolls in his belly, the slow beating of his heart, the vague pounding in his head that won’t let up.

Merlin drifts off to sleep.

When Merlin next wakes, he is able to open his eyes to see Phineas sitting by his bed.

“Where’s Gwaine?” Merlin asks, mouth dry.

Phinny puts down the book he's reading and moves toward Merlin, handing him a drink of water.

“He didn’t come back with Simon. I’ll tell you later. How are you? You’ve been sleeping a long time.”

“Tired,” Merlin murmurs.

“I’ll get Arthur; he’s been worried sick.”

Merlin swallows the rest of the water and barely gets it back on the table without spilling it. He’s weak and tired, and he really wants to sleep some more, but he valiantly keeps his eyes open until Arthur appears beside him.

“There’s my handsome mate,” Arthur smiles at him, and Merlin can immediately detect the lines around Arthur’s eyes and the tell-tale smudges beneath them that denote a night without sleep.

“Sorry,” Merlin immediately says.

“As you should be, wearing yourself out,” Arthur slips into the bed, curling up beside Merlin. “Gaius says this pregnancy is just harder than the last, and you should rest more. Stop running around so much with your cohorts.”

This brings a smile to Merlin’s lips as his eyes droop shut. “Okay. Kiss me.”

He feels Arthur’s soft mouth on his, and Merlin musters up the energy to respond. He’d have to be dead before he couldn’t do that.

~~~

Leon growls and slams the door.

“These sniveling alpha punks need to stay away from our house!” he yells.

“Dad! I’ll never find a mate at this rate!” Clyde storms.

“You’re too young to mate!” Leon roars.

“Please, Daddy,” Audrey pleads looking up from where she plays with the younger pups on the floor. “Just let him go. He’s impossible.”

Audrey is maturing quickly too, although not at the rate that Clyde is, and for the hundredth time, Leon wonders what’s going on. It’s frustrating, and it’s stressing out his pregnant mate. He looks at Will, all round and warm in his chair and feels a familiar pull at his heart and also in his groin region, amazed all over again at what this man does to him. Holding out his hand, he murmurs, “Come.”

Will gives Leon an exasperated smile, but takes his hand and allows him to pull him up out of the chair, leading him to their bedroom, the children’s groans of annoyance following them.

“Sully’s coming over!” Clyde calls after them.

“You’re getting me a nanny, or no more sex,” Will says as their bedroom door closes, but then he can’t talk anymore because Leon’s kissing the words out of his mouth with long, slow licks of his tongue.

Later, when they’re tied in bed, Leon tucks his chin into Will’s shoulder, enjoying the scent of his mate and the way he’s still shuddering from his intense orgasm of moments before.

“So Gwaine just stayed with the elder, allowing Simon to come back?” he asks quietly in Will’s ear, pulling him closer.

“Yes,” Will answers a bit hoarsely. “So Simon could see his firstborn. No reason for them both to sit staring at the elder translating the book.”

Leon slips his tongue out and licks the rim of Will’s ear. “Nice of him.”

Will nods in agreement, too overcome to speak as Leon’s knot swells a little, pressing on Will’s prostate and bringing another spurt of cum out of Will’s cock.

“Leon!” he moans.

“That’ll teach you to flirt with that Uallus fellow,” Leon chuckles, pumping a little just to make Will squirm.

“I-I don’t flirt with him!” Will sputters.

“You don’t exactly tell him to go away,” Leon reaches up to rub one of Will’s ultra-sensitive nipples, and Will cries out, arching in Leon’s arms.

“You fucker,” Will swears, pushing back into Leon as soon as he recovers. Leon’s knot breaks, and a wash of sensation spreads over him. He gasps, pulling Will in even closer, pushing inside as far as he can get, their legs entwining. He can feel their unborn pups squirming beneath his hands, and that feeling of the lives that they’ve created together excites him, making him thrust harder. Will climaxes again, reaching back to grasp Leon’s hair, pulling it hard.

“Fuck!” Leon’s vision goes black for a moment and he stills, savouring the last pulses of his ejaculation.

He slides out gently, rolling onto his back. Will’s limbs quiver, utterly spent. Leon glances at the luscious curves of him, thinking he could almost go for a round two. He reaches for his mate’s hand, bringing it to his lips, and kisses each finger lovingly. Will smiles.

“Sap,” he whispers before sliding into sleep. Leon soon follows.

Clyde opens the door to his friend, whose father gives a wave and walks off down the path.

Sully rolls his eyes.

“How embarrassing…being walked to the door by dear old dad,” he says as he walks in.

“I know the feeling,” Clyde returns.

Audrey gives Sully an interested look from her place on the floor, but then turns her back and hands Higgy a wolf doll.

Sully’s only two years older than Clyde, but Clyde has suddenly caught up to him in maturity. They’ve become close friends lately, both being omegas in new heat. They quickly head to Clyde’s room and close the door.

“What’s all the racket coming from your folk’s room?” Sully asks. “They fucking?”

“Ew!” Clyde wrinkles his nose. “Don’t talk about it. It’s my parents!”

Sully goes into Clyde’s closet and puts his ear to the wall. “Wow, I can hear them. I think…”

“Stop!” Clyde says, holding up a hand. “Really, man. I can’t take it. I have to live with them, you know.”

“Okay, okay,” Sully laughs, coming back in the room. “I saw those studs outside. I really like Vince. He gave me a long look when we passed by. My old man almost decked him.”

“He really is hot,” Clyde agrees. “I’m so fucking horny I can’t stand it.” He sits down, squeezing his legs together.

“We should go to my house,” Sully says suddenly. “My brother has all kinds of toys. He’s three years older and about to be mated.”

“My folks’ll never let me out,” Clyde sighs. “They watch me every minute.”

“We’ll sneak out, then,” Sully tells him. “After we’re supposed to be asleep. It’ll be easy. I do it all the time.”


	75. Caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donald and Phineas are up late, Clyde and Sully find a toy they like, and Will has company at the river.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone want to try their hand at drawing this toy? lol

Donald sits out on the porch with his warm milk, unable to sleep. This happens a lot now that he’s with pups. Inside, Percy snores like a chain saw. The waning moon shines over the ranch, houses casting long shadows that stretch eerily over the grass. He sees movement on the porch across the way and waves to Phineas, who waves back and walks over.

“Indigestion?” Phineas guesses, and Donald nods.

“Me, too,” Phinny sighs. “I wish Gwaine would come home. He always sat up with me.”

“Well, we could sit up together,” Donald suggests, gesturing to the empty rocker beside him. Phineas smiles and takes a seat.

“You ever notice the odd things you see at night that you don’t see in the day time?’ Donald asks after he gets his guest a cup of warm milk and sits down again.

“Like what?” Phineas asks, leaning back in the chair and looking out over the ranch. He can just see the lights of the Alpha’s house over the crest of the hill.

“Well, for instance, last night I saw Mithian leave the main house and walk over to Ronan’s.”

“What’s so odd about that?” Phineas asks, taking a sip of his milk.

“It was one A.M.,” Donald answers.

“Oh,” Phinny says. “I guess that is a bit odd.”

“I thought so,” Donald nods. “And a couple of nights ago, I saw Uallus follow Will to the omega den and just stand around outside while he was in there. He finally left without speaking to Will or anything. And then earlier this evening, a group of young alphas hung around outside Leon’s door like they were expecting a hand out or something.”

“I think I can explain that last bit,” Phineas says. “Clyde’s gone into heat.”

“Already?” Donald looks at Phineas, surprised.

“He’s matured really fast. It’s another weird phenomenon to add to the list.”

While Donald thinks about this, he spots something across the lawn. “Look,” he whispers, touching Phineas’ arm. “Is that two people sneaking out a window of Leon’s house?”

Phineas leans forward. “I think…I think it’s Clyde and his friend! Where are they going?”

Donald sets down his cup. “Think we should follow them?”

Phineas nods and they get up, grunting a little as they do.

Keeping to the shadows, they make their way across the courtyard, watching the two young boys race past the fence.

“They must be headed to the other boy’s house,” Phineas murmurs. “It’s just at the edge of the old Freemont ranch—not far from the Alpha’s.”

“Think we should wake Leon and tell him?” Donald stops, not having the energy to walk any farther.

“I don’t know,” Phineas looks at him. “I hate to be a tattle tale about a little midnight fun."

“Let’s go back to the porch,” Donald suggests. “If they don’t show back up soon, we’ll decide then.” They turn around and head back.

~~~

“You weren’t lying,” Clyde says in awe, looking at all the toys spread before him on the bed. “These are all your brother’s?”

“Yep,” Sully smiles.

“How does this one work?” Clyde asks, holding up something that looks like a two-sided cock with two knots at the middle with a space between.

“That’s for two to use, if you know what I mean,” Sully says with a wink. “Blar and I used it together. Wanna try?”

Clyde looks at the thing dubiously, his groin stirring. He has to admit he’s curious. The problem with two omegas is that they can’t fuck each other due to the immense width of their cocks; it isn’t comfortable or at all what their bodies seek when in heat.

He shrugs, trying to look sure of himself. “Okay.” He starts to strip, watching Sully out of the corner of his eye.

“You sure Blar won’t walk in on us?” Clyde asks when naked.

“He’s dead to the world in his room. Didn’t even hear me go in and get this junk.”

Sully gets on his hands and knees, telling Clyde to do the same, but facing away from him. “I’m dripping like a motherfucker,” Sully says with a laugh, pushing the rubber cock into his hole. Clyde watches over his shoulder, mesmerized, until Sully instructs him to grab the other end and put it in his own hole.

When Clyde does, the feeling is delicious. He can only imagine how much better a real cock would feel. Sully begins to push back, and Clyde gasps. Soon, they find a rhythm, and they’re fucking each other on the dildo, moaning and grunting, arses occasionally almost touching, hands pleasuring themselves.

“Now push in all the way,” Sully gasps, “and take the knot. Wiggle a little to get it all the way in.”

Clyde obeys, squirming, making his rim take the rubber knot at the base of the rubber cock. As his rim stretches, it sends tingling sensations throughout his arse and groin, and he comes on a sob, spilling on his trembling hand. The knot presses on something inside him and a burst of light explodes behind Clyde's eyes, jerking him back into Sully, and another spurt of clear cum splashes over his fingers.

“Fuck!” he cries out, as Sully moans and writhes against his back, lost in his own ecstasy.

Neither of them are completely aware when the door of Sully’s bedroom bangs open and Sully’s father stands there, a shocked and angry expression on his face as he takes in the scene before him.

~~~

“You look upset,” Uallus says.

Will startles, turning around. “I’m fine,” he says. Fuck. How exactly does he manage to get himself into these messes? He’s alone with Uallus. Again.

“Uallus, go away. I’m not comfortable with you here, and I swear…I’ll get Leon to beat the shit out of you,” Will tells him.

Instead of running like any wolf with sense, Uallus sits down beside Will on a rock. “I’m not trying to intimidate or scare you,” he surprises Will by saying.

“You’re not?” Will asks, skeptical.

Uallus shakes his head.

Will moves into the water and swims out into the deep, which is why he came in the first place. It’s hot and he’s big. He can’t stand being in the house any more with his grounded son and his big mouth, so he had to get away for just a little while. Now he wants to put distance between himself and Uallus, and he’s faster in the water than he is on land at the moment.

“You may not mean to, but you still do,” he tells Uallus. “It’s not right for an alpha to be alone with an omega like this. I don’t know what Declan’s crazy rules were, but Arthur says it’s not right, and Arthur’s our leader. So scram.”

“I just want to talk to you,” Uallus calls to him, and to Will’s horror, he begins stripping his clothes off. Even as Will’s heart rate accelerates and he wonders what the hell Uallus thinks he’s doing, his eyes go to the skin above the man’s groin and the tattoo there, but Uallus dives in too quickly for Will to get a good look at what the symbol is, coming to surface nearby. Will makes a move toward shore, but before he can do so, Uallus suddenly has slick arms encircling Will’s nude body.

Will opens his mouth to protest and a warm tongue enters it, soft yet demanding.

Horrified, Will pushes at Uallus’ chest. He’s never had anyone’s tongue in his mouth other than Leon’s…never had any man’s lips against his own other than Leon’s. He hadn't been inexperienced when he'd mated with Leon, but he'd saved the very intimate and loving act of kissing for his mate.

Craning his neck back as far as he can, Will breaks the contact.

“Let me go!” He means to yell, he means to be indignant, but it comes out on a sob. Uallus’ grip loosens a little, allowing Will room to breathe.

“I love you,” Uallus tells Will, and Will shudders.

“Please…please let me go.” He can feel his unborn pups shifting inside of him, as though they’re aware that something is wrong, and he berates himself for not getting away from Uallus the moment he saw the alpha on shore. Arthur is right—he is always getting into trouble. No wonder the Alpha thinks every mishap with Merlin is Will’s fault.

“If I tell Leon you did this, you’re a dead man,” Will gasps, sliding wet arms between their bodies and pushing against Uallus’ firm chest.

“I want to save you,” Uallus tells Will, unafraid. “Leon’s wrath won’t matter when they come.”

Will abruptly stills, staring into the weird, whitish eyes of the man who holds him captive, each hair on the back of his neck rising upward.

“What the fuck are you talking about? When _who_ come?” Will demands hoarsely.


	76. Uallus

 

Uallus presses his lips to Will’s neck, just at the edge of his mating mark, and pain rushes through Will’s system, making his back arch, belly pressed to Uallus’.

“S-stop! You’re hurting me! My mark…” Will begs. Uallus backs off then, seeming to realize he’s gone too far.

“Listen to me,” he tells Will, fingers digging into the omega’s upper arms. “Things will get very bad soon. I don’t want you hurt. Ros and I will be leaving, and I want you to come with us.”

“What’s going to happen?” Will asks, staring into the unusual eyes. “Who’s coming? Tell me!”

Uallus licks his lips. “Those who are like me. I feel it. You can’t stop them. They won’t accept me; I’ve been gone too long. Come with us!”

“You’re crazy!” Will wrenches out of his grip and swims for shore. When he crawls up onto the sand, he has to lie there panting for several minutes in order to get his breath back. Uallus appears by his side, expression sincere.

“I meant what I said…I do love you. I’ve admired you for a long time…your spunk and courage. Leon doesn’t appreciate you as I do. Come away with me and be my second mate.”

Will scowls. “That’s impossible even if I wanted it,” he rasps.

“Not if I kill him before we go and claim you as mine.”

“No!” Will yells. “I’ll kill you first!” Like a striking snake, Will reaches out and grabs Uallus by the throat before he can move. Uallus’ pale pupils never leave Will’s, and after a moment, Will lets go.

“I wouldn’t force you,” Uallus tells him, voice bruised from the strength of Will’s grip. “But if you stay, only death waits for you here; I promise you that. Think about your pups.” He gets to his feet. “Will, give this some thought. I’ll be waiting for your answer tonight. Tomorrow I’ll be gone.” He turns and walks away, leaving Will trembling in the sand.

It takes everything Will has to do it, but he pulls his clothes on and walks on shaking legs to Merlin’s.

When Arthur opens the door to find Will wet and bedraggled on the porch, his first reaction is one of irritation.

“Merlin has been resting well…I don’t want you to get him riled up.”

Will can’t meet Arthur’s eyes. If he does, he knows he’ll burst into tears.

“I really just need to talk to him,” he pleads, staring at Arthur’s right ear. He wants to hear Merlin’s calm voice telling him everything will be all right. He has to hear it before he can face Leon.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Arthur replies, but his voice softens somewhat. He studies Will. “Come in, though, you’re all wet.”

Will steps into the hall. It’s cool inside, and he immediately begins to shiver.

“Collum!” Arthur calls, and the young man appears, Em in his arms.

“Could you get a towel, please? And a blanket.”

Collum disappears and returns sans child.

To Will’s embarrassment, Arthur begins to rid him of his clothing.

“I can do it…” he says, trying to push the Alpha’s hands away with trembling, numb fingers.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Arthur barks, brooking no argument. “You can barely stand. Help me, Collum.”

Soon they have Will naked, dry, and wrapped in a blanket.

“Make some tea,” Arthur tells Collum and leads Will into the sitting area.

“I really want to talk to Merlin,” Will’s crying openly now.

“I think I should get Leon,” Arthur replies.

“No!” Will says. “Please! Please. Alpha, don’t get Leon.”

“Why not?” Arthur asks. “You omegas seem to have this mistaken idea that your alphas don’t deserve to know what’s going on with you.” He studies Will for a long moment. “Tell me what’s happened.”

Will shakes his head.

“But you were going to tell Merlin.”

Will stares at the wall, tears streaming down his face. He sniffles, wiping his nose on his arm. “Merlin’s my friend and an omega. I need him.”

Arthur looks down at his hands and sighs. “I don’t want Merlin upset, Will. He cares about you so much that he’ll want to help--he could lose our pups. Do you understand?”

Will looks down at his lap, which blurs over as tears spill from his eyes. He nods. “I don’t want that either. I’m sorry.”

Collum appears with the tea.

“Collum, would you please go fetch Mordred for me?” Arthur looks at Will. “You can talk to him, can’t you?”

Will bites his lip and nods.

“But I am going to get Leon,” Arthur tells Will, leaning forward and looking him in the eyes.  “After you talk to Mordred, you’re going to talk to him.” Arthur gets up, leaving Will no room for argument.

When Arthur tells Leon what he knows, Leon begins to pace his study. “I knew something was wrong! I felt a twinge in my mating bite.” He stops and then heads for the door, but Arthur blocks the way. “Give him some time. He needs to speak to another omega first. I told him I was bringing you to him.”

Leon shakes his head. “He’s so impulsive and headstrong! I’ve spent years trying to break him of these things. You don’t know.”

“I know a little. Merlin isn’t the easiest, either. But I’ve seen enough of Will to know you have a lot on your hands. He’s very upset, though, Leon. Something has happened…prepare yourself.”

Leon’s eyes widen. “Gods, man!” he bellows. “You can’t just say that and expect me to stand here!”

“He looked physically fine, only a bit tired and very wet,” Arthur tries to reassure his friend.

“Audrey said he went to the river for a swim,” Leon remembers, running a hand through his rumpled auburn curls. “I’d gone to talk to George…he’s going to be our nanny. I brought him back with me. I’ll go tell him to watch the children while we go.” He starts for the door, stopping where Arthur still blocks it. “Er, may I?” he cocks a brow, and Arthur steps aside.

When the children are situated, Leon says, “I’d better check on Clyde. I’ve grounded him—Sully’s father caught them double-fucking with a dildo in Sully’s room. They were supposed to be asleep here.”

Arthur cringes, but says nothing.

Approaching Clyde’s bedroom door, Leon stops, putting his ear to the wood. He looks at Arthur, eyes round with disbelief, before opening the door abruptly to reveal his son on the floor with young alpha Brett Cumming’s cock buried deep in his arse.

“Dad!” Clyde squeaks, trying and failing to move away from Brett, since they’re tied.

“What the HELL!” Leon yells, furious. “Are you seriously mating my son, you little upstart?!”

“M-mating!” Clyde squawks, trying to wiggle away, Brett sliding across the floor with him. “Dad, we’re _fucking_ , not mating! Are you kidding me?”

“That knot better break in the next five seconds, boy, or I’m going to be breaking your neck!” Leon advances on the young alpha, whose eyes go huge. He begins thrusting for all he’s worth. Arthur actually feels a bit sorry for him.

“Don’t make him pull out while knotted,” he murmurs to Leon. “He’ll cause some damage to Clyde.”

Leon sighs, fists clenched. “Okay, okay. A moment of privacy, then. Just hurry up and get the hell out!” He and Arthur exit the room, giving the couple a few minutes.

Leon bangs his head against the wall. “Consider yourself lucky, Arthur, that you aren’t dealing with teenagers.” He looks at the Alpha and whispers. “I think this maturity advancement is suddenly starting to hit Audrey, too. I caught her staring at some omegas today.” He shudders. “I can’t deal with all this.”

He opens Clyde’s door. His son is in bed, alone.

“Where’s the punk?” Leon asks.

“He left by the window,” Clyde answers sullenly.

“You stay put with the door open,” Leon tells him, pointing his finger at his son. “George is in charge. I’ll deal with you later. Come on, Arthur.” He starts for the front door, then seems to remember himself, pausing to let Arthur go ahead of him. “Um, I mean, are you ready, Alpha?”

Arthur gives Leon a wry smile. “Yes, Leon.”

When they enter Arthur’s living room, they find Will curled up in Mordred’s arms, crying as Mordred rubs his head and Merlin sits nearby on the couch.

Arthur wants to blow his top at the sight of his pregnant mate in the midst of all the drama, but he only says quietly, “Merlin, shouldn’t you be in bed?”

Merlin rolls his eyes at him. “Right, Arthur.” He pats the couch invitingly. “Come sit with me. I heard their voices, so don’t blame them.”

Arthur pulls Merlin into his arms, getting comfortable with him on the sofa. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Merlin,” he tells him close to his ear before pressing a kiss there.

At the sight of Leon, Will begins a new paroxysm of crying, and Mordred holds him more tightly. Cenred stands in the corner as though guarding his own pregnant mate.

“What the hell is going on, Will?” Leon demands, half-angry, half-distraught. He falls to his knees on the floor beside Will, who hides his face in Mordred’s chest.

Leon looks to Arthur for help, but Arthur only shrugs helplessly.

“Will,” Merlin says softly. “Tell us what happened.  Did someone hurt you?”

Will’s fingers clench in Mordred’s shirt. “N-no,” he says softly and not quite convincingly. Mordred’s eyes meet Merlin’s.

“Was it Uallus?” Merlin asks.

Will tenses, and Leon jumps to his feet. “I’ll kill the motherfucker,” he growls.


	77. Uallus Speaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon is not amused.

 

Will jumps out of the nest of Mordred’s arms, his face red from crying, and grabs Leon's arm.

“Wait! Leon. Uallus told me…” he looks around until he meets Arthur’s gaze. “He says there’s going to be an army marching here.” Will swallows.

Arthur sits up straight. “What?”

“An army of his kind…from wherever he’s from.” Will shakes his head and wipes his face with his hands. "I...I don't know if he was telling the truth or just trying to get me to go away with him."

"What?" Leon looks apoplectic.

“He says they won’t welcome him, and he and Ros are leaving... and he wanted me to come, too." Will glances at Leon. "He said they’ll kill us all.”

Arthur looks to Cenred. “Get Percy and the two of you bring Uallus and Ros here.” Cenred nods and leaves.

Leon grabs Will by the arms. “What did he do to you? Why does he want you to go with them?”

Will squeezes his eyes shut and hangs his head. “He didn't really do anything. He…he said he l-loves me and that's why he wants me to go. He doesn't want me to get hurt.”

“ _What_?” Leon cries. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You’re mated to me!”

Will opens his eyes and looks up at Leon. “He…” a roll of nausea stops him, and he doubles over.

“Trash can,” Merlin orders, and Mordred makes a grab for it, being the closest. Will barely makes it, beginning to vomit.

“Merlin, I want you to go upstairs and lie down,” Arthur orders.

“Forget it,” Merlin replies stubbornly.

“Merlin!” Arthur barks, and Merlin can’t help but cower a little.

“Please, Arthur,” he says quietly, taking Arthur’s hand. “I’ll go crazy up there not knowing what’s going on.”

Arthur stares down at him. He sighs. “I know that’s true, and that’s the _only_ reason I’m allowing it. But you have to stay quiet and in control.”

“Don’t I look in control?” Merlin asks innocently.

Arthur rubs his eyes.

Will finishes vomiting, and Mordred takes him to the bathroom to clean up.

It seems to take forever for Cenred and Percy to return. Leon paces the room. Will and Mordred come back, and Will erupts into a fresh bout of tears at one look from Leon.

Merlin presses his lips together, determined to remain quiet. Arthur clenches his fists and watches out the window.

Presently, Collum comes through the room with Hunith.

“She insisted on a cup of water,” Collum tells the group apologetically.

The little girl rushes to her fathers for kisses, then hesitates in front of Will, dismayed at his tears.

“Don’t cry, Uncle Will,” she tells him, climbing into his lap and putting her small arms around his neck. She presses her cheek to his. He gives her a squeeze.

“I’m okay, luvvy. You get your water and go on to bed.”

Hunith pats his face and looks down at his large baby bump. She kisses it. “Come out soon and play with me,” she tells the pups within before climbing down and heading toward the kitchen with Collum.

At that moment, Cenred and Percy burst through the door, leading Uallus and Ros.

“Uncle Cen!” Hunith squeals. “Will you plait my hair?”

Cenred’s face transforms from steely determination to doting softness in a nanosecond.

“Hunith, you need to go to bed,” Arthur tells her from the living room.

Hunith’s bottom lip trembles.

“Um, it will only take a moment, Alpha,” Cenred says. “I don’t mind.”

Mordred hides his smile behind Will’s head, sending his mate a message with his eyes. _I am so going to fuck you into the wall later._

Cenred blushes and follows Collum and Hunith into the kitchen.

Leon has already taken Cenred’s place beside Uallus, dragging him into the room.

“Tell us what you told Will,” Arthur demands.

Uallus’ eyes move toward Will, but Leon grabs Uallus by the hair and snaps his head back.

“Don’t you dare look at him! I’ll deal with you for whatever you did to him later! Now answer the Alpha!”

“I told him that there’s an army approaching,” Uallus answers calmly.

Ros shakes all over. Merlin watches him from his place on the couch, noticing that Ros’ eyes never leave Arthur.

“What kind of an army, and how do you know this?” Arthur asks.

“They are an army of my people, that’s all I know,” Uallus replies. “I know it because I dream it. It’s written in my soul. They will not welcome me among them because I’ve been away from them too long, and they come to wipe everyone else off the face of the earth.”

“That’s crazy!” Cenred says, coming back into the room. “You’re basing all of this on dreams!”

“It’s prophecy,” Uallus answers simply.

At that moment, Simon and Lance enter, having left the baby in the kitchen with Collum.

“I thought it wise to get them,” Cenred tells Arthur, and Arthur nods.

“Good thinking.” 

Lance takes one look at Uallus and grabs his head in pain. Simon steps forward. “Lance?”

“There are hundreds of them,” Lance says.

“He knows,” Uallus replies.

“Is there anything else you have to tell us?” Arthur asks Uallus, hands on hips. “And is there a reason you chose not to warn us? Will says you planned to run.”

“I don’t feel an affinity with you,” Uallus replies. “Ros carries my pups, and Will…” again he tries to look at Will, but Leon won’t allow it.

“Will,” Leon barks in his alpha tone that brooks no disobedience from an omega. “Tell me what happened with Uallus today.”

Trembling, Will looks to Mordred, who nods his head encouragingly and gives him a little shove forward. Will stands. “My alpha, Uallus…claims he loves me. He told me today at the river he wants to take me with him and Ros..make me his second mate by… killing you.” Will stares at the floor, unable to bring himself to meet Leon’s eyes.

Leon growls. There is a long pause. “Did he touch you?”

Will swallows. “I was swimming…he dove in…he wrapped his arms around me. Kissed my mouth. Touched my mating bite with his lips.”

There’s a noise like the rush of wind and a gurgling sound followed by a loud thump.

A thick line of red runs across the floor into Will’s line of vision.

“I would have liked to ask him exactly when this invasion will take place,” Arthur complains, annoyed.

“Sorry,” Leon replies, tone unrepentant, “Couldn’t wait.”


	78. Waiting and Planning

Ros immediately falls at Leon’s feet, offering his neck. Will doesn’t even have the strength to muster up a growl, although he sickens at the thought of Leon taking Ros as his second mate. If he does it, it will be Will’s fault for not doing something about all this long ago. Now Uallus’ blood is on his hands. Literally—it’s running over the floorboards and over Will’s fingers.

A sound rises in his ears, and he realizes it’s his own keening wail. Firm yet gentle hands take Will by the shoulders and bring him slowly to his feet. Leon turns Will in his arms, pressing Will’s face into his neck. Will takes a deep, fortifying breath of Leon’s scent, clinging to his alpha, sobs rising in his throat.

“This symbol…” Arthur’s voice. “Has anyone seen it before?”

Funny, after all these weeks of Will trying his best to see the symbol, now he can’t bring himself to look at it. He doesn’t want to see Uallus lying dead on the floor.

“Get Gaius,” Mordred suggests.

Leon leads Will over to the sofa and sits down with him, holding him close.

“Everything’s all right now,” Leon whispers into his hair.

“Can we go home?” Will asks. “Please?”

“Not yet, no,” Leon tells him.

“You didn’t agree to mate Ros, did you?” Will whimpers.

“Of course not,” Will can feel Leon chuckling. “Don’t be ridiculous. Arthur will find someone else for him.”

Gaius and Burt arrive, and Arthur fills them in on what’s going on.

“I was afraid of something like this,” Gaius says. “It won’t surprise me a bit if Gwaine comes back with news of this prophecy from my grandfather’s book.”

“Come look at this symbol,” Arthur urges him, and Gaius steps over Uallus’ legs, bending down to get a good look at the symbol over his now-uncovered groin area.

“That is an ancient symbol of purification, I believe,” he replies, running his finger over the loops at each end. “Wouldn’t you say, Burt?”

Burt bends down on the other side of Uallus’ body. “Yes, I believe I’ve seen that in your book of symbols.”

Gaius looks up at Arthur. “I’ve never seen this used as a pack symbol, though.”

“So what could it mean?” Arthur asks.

“Simply that we’ve never heard of this pack that’s coming to kill us all off,” Gaius replies.

“They must be coming soon, or Uallus wouldn’t be preparing to leave,” Simon puts in. “Ros,” he looks at the omega still huddled on the floor next to his dead mate. “What do you know of all this?”

“I don’t know anything,” Ros replies. “Uallus didn’t know much himself. He was just positive that disaster is coming soon, and we have to get out. I thought he might be crazy.”

“Did he say exactly when?” Merlin asks.

Ros shakes his head. “He doesn’t know. Soon. That’s all he’s ever said.”

Merlin looks at Lance. “Lance and I had the same dream…of a lot of bloodshed.”

Upon further discussion, it’s decided that rather than stay alone, the omegas without other mates will come to stay at the Alpha’s with Merlin while Arthur meets with the council to talk about defending the ranches.

Will finds himself clinging to Leon. “I don’t want you to go,” he tells him.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Leon promises, kissing Will softly. “Are you all right?” he asks. “Are you sure he didn’t hurt you?” Leon puts his hand on Will’s stomach.

“I’m sure,” Will tells him. “I didn’t want him to kiss me, Leon. I’m sorry.” Against his will, tears well up in his eyes again.

Leon wipes them off. “I know that.”

“Really,” Will tells him, grabbing Leon’s wrist. “I didn’t think he would come there. I never thought he would say he was in love with me!”

“Shhh, calm down,” Leon tells him, stroking Will’s face. “I’ll be back and we’ll talk then, all right?”

Will nods, watching Leon leave the house.

George, Collum, and Sigmund get all the pups to bed as Lance nurses Simon Jr., SJ for short. Clyde and Audrey take the roll-out couches in the den.

There are plenty of bedrooms, but Merlin, Will, Mordred, Lance, and Donald wind up congregating in Will’s bed on the pretense of checking on him, but more because everyone is restless and scared. Merlin sends Ros to stay with Egan and Eve.

“Because I can’t stand the sight of him,” he tells the others as they lounge in their pyjamas.

“I don’t blame you,” Donald tells him. “He still stares at Arthur a lot.”

“Now we have to find him another mate. Maybe Egan will take him,” Merlin replies, moving to cuddle up against Will.

“No, get Ronan to take him,” Mordred says. “Egan will let him run amok.”

“Lance,” Merlin says after a few minutes of lying in the darkness. “Since we saw all the blood in the vision, that means it’s going to happen, doesn’t it?”

He feels sick thinking about it.

“No, not necessarily,” Lance scoots down under the covers. “It could be a warning to get us ready. I’m here for a reason. I believe that. The Father Wolf gave me a chance at life. He told me I could give up or face my destiny. When I decided to do that, he made me omega, which is what brought me here. When Gwaine comes back with the translated book, we’ll know more, but Simon says they’d already found something about that in there--- _the beta who became omega_. That’s me, you guys. I’m supposed to help. Already some of the old prophecies have come true... _the famine of omegas_ , for one. We’ve passed through that.”

Merlin nods. “And Gaius thought he saw something about de-aging, right?”

“That might be connected to me, too,” Lance replies. “I seem to have abilities…abilities that I can pass on. To betas, I think. I don’t know.” He shakes his head.

 Mordred rises up on his elbow. “So that’s why Sigmund can heal, too? You’ve taught him?”

“I have somehow, I think, by putting my hands on him,” Lance answers.

“How much of the book had been translated by the time Simon left?” Will asks.

“About a quarter. Simon took notes as fast as he could. Gwaine started taking them when Simon left.”

Merlin sighs. “I wish we knew how much time we have or what we’re really up against.”

“Then we’d know whether to fight or run,” Will adds softly.

Mordred looks down at Will. “You think we should run?”

“If they outnumber us, yes,” Will replies. “Think of the children…”

“But where to?” Donald asks. “And this is our home.” His voice breaks. “I’m scared.”

Sometimes Merlin forgets how young Donald is. He reaches for him, pulling him close. “It’s going to be okay. Arthur is a warrior, and so are many of his men. It’s been a few years, but they’ve been in battles with wolves before; he’s told me about them.”

“If we move,” Donald says quietly, “we’ll be leaving Freya, and Pip. And my parents…I don’t think they could survive a long trip.”

“Shhh…” Merlin quiets him. “Let’s not worry about things we can’t help. Besides, we don’t even know if we’ll have to move yet. We may stand and fight.”

By the time the alphas get back, the omegas have drifted off to sleep. Arthur lifts Merlin out of Will’s bed, carrying him down the hall to theirs. 

“You’re going to break your back,” Merlin murmurs into Arthur’s shoulder.

“No, I’m not,” Arthur tells him. “You’re not that heavy.” He gently deposits him in their bed and begins to undress.

“Do you think we’ll run?” Merlin asks.

Arthur gives him a sharp look. “No. Never. This is our home, and we’ll defend it. I’ve already sent a troop out to find neighbouring packs…there are a few about fifty miles from here. If we band together, we should make a fierce army. We start training our men tomorrow.” He crawls in beside Merlin, placing a hand over his swollen belly.

“You’ll be having our pups soon.”

“It should be anytime,” Merlin agrees.

“Tonight’s been too exciting. I’ve asked a couple girls to come scrub the floor of the remains of the blood in the morning.” Arthur lays his head down beside Merlin’s on the pillow.

“Where did you put Ros?”

“I sent him to Egan’s,” Merlin replies.

Arthur cocks a brow. “You didn’t let him stay here?”

“No,” Merlin says flatly. “I don’t want him here, and I’d like you to mate him to Ronan. As soon as possible.”

Arthur picks up Merlin’s hand and kisses it, and Merlin feels the smile against his fingers. “If that’s what you want,” Arthur replies.

~~~

Mordred sinks into Cenred, his cock stretching his alpha’s rim to the max. “You didn’t think I’d forget, did you?” he whispers in Cenred’s ear as he begins to move. “Seeing you being all sweet with Hunith made me want you so badly.”

Cenred moans and grasps at the sheets, pushing back into Mordred, his arse taking every fat inch of him.

“Gods, you’re such a man to be able to take me like this; I hope you know that, Cenred,” Mordred tells him, fucking him harder, making the bed squeak. It isn’t long before they’re both coming, strangling their cries into the sheets.

Afterward they hold one another, not speaking of previous events, but just clinging.

They can hear Donald and Percy making love in the next room, Donald’s mew’s of pleasure just audible over Percy’s grunts of exertion.

There’s nothing to do but wait until daylight and make plans then.


	79. Bond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mithian's secrets aren't that deep. Nim and Phineas comfort one another while the ranch readies itself for attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working on my reel merlin--thanks to kittyfic for her help on that! Also doing a bit on my coffee shop fic. I love all your comments here at the end of a long, sometimes crappy day! <3 Can't believe you're still interested in this thing.

The next two weeks are spent on drills and patrols. Everyone’s on edge, wondering each second if a line of white-eyed warriors will appear over the horizon. The humans who still work the ranch seem unconcerned with the world of the wolves, but when the two packs return with the troops Arthur’s sent out, the Brightons look at them like they’re crazy.

‘Where are all these people going to stay?” Josh Brighton asks Arthur.

“They’ll be making camp around the ranch,” Arthur answers, unfazed by the man’s obvious incredulity. “Pete’s told you what we think is coming. We won’t be caught unawares.”

Josh just shakes his head, and he and his brothers return to work. Every once in a while Jordan sneaks a look at Mithian, who has brought water to the workers. She wears shorts that barely cover her arse, and he suddenly remembers that day out in the barn when he had her in the hay. She’d been whipped for it, and then she’d joined that other pack and been slut to the Alpha there. Now she’s mated to old Pete, but rumour has it she sneaks out and sucks off Ronan a lot of nights. He wonders if she’d be stupid enough to have a go with him again.

~~~

Phineas finishes giving Morpheus his bath and releases him, wet and wriggling, to go play with his sister.

‘I don’t have the energy to dress him,” he sighs, leaning back against the bathroom wall.

‘I’ll take care of it,” Nim smiles at him.

“Thanks. When will Gwaine ever get here?” Phineas looks at the ceiling. “Doesn’t it seem like he’s been gone forever, Nim?”

“Yes,” she replies, having caught Morpheus with a towel. The little boy squeals as she dries him off, and Mary stands at a safe distance, giggling.

Phineas undresses and slips down into the bathwater he just took Morpheus from, adding some hot from the tap, and sighs, the pups inside him wriggling restlessly.

When Nim is finished with Morpheus, she comes to sit behind him on the edge of the large, round tub. “Here, lean up and I’ll soap your hair,” she tells Phineas.

He moans as she shampoos him, delighting in the feel of her soapy fingers on his scalp and the nape of his neck.

“You’re so tense, Phin. Don’t worry so much,” Nim tells him softly. “Arthur will take care of things.”

“Get in here with me,” Phineas whispers, and hears her removing her clothing. The water ripples around him and then her soft skin touches his back, breasts pressing against him. He’d rather feel the hardness of Gwaine’s chest, but he loves Nim and needs her, too. She runs her hands over the planes of his back. If she were Gwaine, he could lean back and relax against him, but he’s afraid of crushing Nim. She’s beautiful and sweet, and Phinny suddenly wants to make her feel good. He turns, the tub large enough and his belly still small enough that he can do so, and palms her cheek, kissing her softly. She has a pleasing mouth, and she opens it for him, meeting his tongue with hers. She’s as hungry for attention as he is, grasping at his biceps and making needy noises in her throat. He feels himself hardening.

“I-I can’t enter you, Nim. I’m too large,” he tells her into their kiss, reaching down to pleasure her with his fingers. She closes her eyes and moans. When her eyes flutter open, she reaches outside the tub for the drawer and comes back with a bottle. With a flick of her wrist, she drains the tub.

“I think, with the help of some lubricant, I can manage you,” she smiles wryly, and Phineas hisses as her hand touches him with the cool liquid and begins pumping. Soon he’s thrusting into her hand, so lost in feeling that it’s almost a shock when she lowers herself on him. The sensation is different than being inside a man. Phineas doesn’t like it quite as much, but it still feels pretty awesome, and the sight of Nim bouncing on him, her breasts moving so close to his face as she braces her hands on the edge of the tub behind his head, quickly tightens his balls and brings him off. He thumbs her within her folds and she lets out a short cry, the sound lost in the racket the children make racing up and down the hall with a toy truck.

~~~

Pete finishes washing up after lunch, his mind on the night before. He’d been watching Mithian carefully ever since he’d noticed she’d been taking showers before he got up in the morning. There didn’t seem to be any reason for her to do such a thing, unless she didn’t want him scenting something on her. Or someone.

So he’d followed her the night before, and he’d caught her with her mouth stretched around Ronan’s dick, sucking him like a little slut. It makes him so mad, he can’t stand it. Here he’d been so careful with her. So sweet. He’d made love to the girl…courted her in bed. Kissed and fondled her, murmured loving words, caressed her soft body. This is how she repays him? Dribbles her spit all over some other man’s cock?

Pete sighs, wiping his face with a towel and looking in the mirror. He isn’t so old that he’s going to be cuckold like that. It pains him, but Mithian has to be shown that Pete’s her alpha and her mate.

The screen door slams and Pete turns, face stoney. “It’s about time you got back. Took you long enough.”

“There was a lot of water to give out,” Mithian tells him, striding inside in her little shorts, breasts pressing against the soft cotton of her shirt.

Pete sits down, beckoning her close. In one swift motion, he yanks her over his knees and tugs her shorts down to her knees. His hand prints are still visible all over her arse and thighs from the night before. He wacks her a few more times, and she shivers, crying out. Thing about Mithian, she gets wet when he spanks her, and that drives him crazy; she actually likes when he punishes her. He suddenly wonders if that’s why she did it in the first place—to make him so mad he’d be rough with her. Could it be true?

Pulling her up, he looks her in the eye.

“My dick not good enough for you? That why you went to suck on Ronan’s?”

Mithian stares at him, shock and something else gathering in her eyes. Lust?

Pete pushes her face into his crotch, where his bulge is growing fast. He’s always been on the large side, even for an alpha, and he’s proud of it. Taking Mithian by the hair, he rubs her nose and mouth over the outline. “Take it out.”

Her fingers tremble as she does so, and when it springs forth, she eagerly licks her lips. “Yeah, girl, you want it. That’s bigger than Ronan’s, isn’t it? Go ahead…suck on it.”

Mithian does, and Pete makes sure she gags on it, too. He punishes her with his dick, pushing it into her mouth until she can’t breathe, then backing off, over and over again, and she loves it—almost gets off on it.

“You’re mine, Mith. Don’t you forget it again.” Before he can come, he yanks her up and turns her around, spreading her open and down onto his cock. She arches, crying out. Pete rips open her shirt, squeezing her full breasts as he pumps into her, making her shatter around him. She’s so wet, he knows now what she likes.

He won’t be forgetting it anytime soon.

~~~

Phineas enters the darkened bedroom where Nim has been lying down, looking at her with concern. “Did I hurt you?” She hasn’t been well since they’d been together that morning.

“No,” she shakes her head listlessly. “That was fine. But…Phinny. Something’s…wrong. Get Gaius.”

Phinny stares down at her where she lies in bed, pale and shaking. “Okay. I’ll go now. Will you be all right while I’m gone?” He’s suddenly very afraid.

“Just go,” Nim starts to cry. “Hurry…I think it’s Gwaine. I think…he’s dying, Phinny! Oh, gods…Get the Alpha, too.”

Phineas runs out the door.


	80. Late Night Emergency

 

Dinner just over and the dishes put away, Arthur steps into the shower, soaping up his tired limbs and blanking out his mind of everything except sleep. After all the drills he put the men through that day, his body needs it. Well, maybe he can sink into Merlin’s sweet body before nodding off. His mate is overdue to have their pups, but randy as a sailor all the same. Perhaps a little rutting will bring the labor on--Arthur’s anxious for them to arrive before the enemy shows up.

“Arthur!” Collum’s face suddenly popping into the shower stall is a shock, to say the least. Arthur almost slips.

“Collum!” 

“Phineas was just here. He says Nim is seriously ill! He’s already left to get Gaius, and Sigmund’s gone with him. Nim told Phineas that it’s something to do with her bond with Gwaine. I didn’t know if you’d want Merlin to hear…” Now Collum seems to realize that he’s staring into the shower at a nude Arthur, and he drops the curtain. “Sorry.”

“You did the right thing.” Arthur rinses quickly and steps out, grabbing a towel. “I can’t lie to Merlin, though. I’ll tell him.” He strides into the bedroom where Merlin rolls over and gives him such an inviting smile that Arthur briefly considers having a quickie first. He shakes the notion off, though, and sits on the edge of the bed, quietly and calmly informing his mate of the news.

Merlin pulls himself to a sitting position, swinging his legs off the bed.

“Whoa!” Arthur grabs Merlin’s shoulder. “Just where do you think you’re going?”

“It’s my responsibility to be with an omega in distress--I’m pack Vixen, Arthur. You made me such when you sank your massive dick and sharp teeth into me, remember?” He reaches for his loose pants.

“Don’t be such a cheeky bastard,” Arthur grumbles. “You know you’re overdue. I was going to fuck those pups out of you tonight if this hadn’t happened. You stay here and rest.”

Merlin stands, not without difficulty. “Now perhaps you won’t have to fuck them out of me,” Merlin replies. “The excitement will do it.” He pulls on a tunic and surveys his mate with a slight leer. “Are you going to get dressed, are you coming in the nude?”

Resigned, Arthur sighs and hurriedly gets into his clothes.

The walk to Gwaine’s house takes twice as long with Merlin by his side, but Arthur doesn’t rush his mate, just keeps a steady arm around his waist. When they arrive, Gaius has finished looking Nim over. She has fallen into a coma.

“Something has definitely happened to Gwaine,” Gaius says sadly. “It’s impossible to tell what.”

“Go get Simon,” Arthur orders Phineas, who leaves immediately. Sigmund has had the foresight to get Allison, who has gone to sleep with the children in case they should awaken in the night. He now stands beside Gaius, looking at him inquiringly.

“I wish laying hands on her would help,” Gaius tells the boy, “but this has to do with her true-mate bond with Gwaine. He has been injured somehow, and if he should die from his wounds, she will eventually succumb, too.”

Merlin, perched on the bed beside Nim, looks up at Arthur, eyes meeting his. “If Gwaine dies, Nim will want to die, too. I know she will.”

Arthur doesn’t deny it.

When Phineas returns with Simon, Arthur tells the other alpha, “I hate to do this to you, but you must go back to the elder and find Gwaine to see what’s happened to him.”

“Of course, Alpha,” Simon replies. “I’ll ready myself now.”

“Until then, Phineas, there is really nothing to be done. Nim will do as well as Gwaine does,” Gaius intones. “Just keep her comfortable. I will send George over to help out.”

“Thank you,” Phineas tells him, going to sit on the other side of Nim.

Merlin brushes the dark hair from her face. “She doesn’t look as though she’s in any pain.”

“She didn’t feel well earlier,” Phineas tells him.

Merlin winces at a twinge in his back.

“Come, Merlin,” Arthur says, noticing. “We need to get you home. George will come to help Phineas, and Allison is here.”

“Yes, Merlin,” Phineas urges him. “Go on. There’s nothing you can do.”

Merlin leans over Nim and kisses Phinny on the forehead. “I’m sorry this is happening,” he tells him before allowing Arthur to help him up.

At home, Merlin’s so tired he can barely get up the stairs to their bedroom; Arthur has to carry him, and his mate remains tight-lipped as he removes Merlin’s clothing.

“Go ahead, tell me you told me so,” Merlin says sleepily. “I know you want to. I’ve worn myself out.” He lies down on the cool sheets, eyes drooping.

Arthur swiftly removes his own clothing and cuddles up to Merlin, skin warm and soft.

“Nonsense,” Arthur tells him. “I want to do nothing of the sort.”

Merlin laughs. “Bullshit.” He turns onto his side, kissing his mate deeply. “I love you. I wouldn’t want to live a minute without you on this earth. I can't remember what it was like before you were with me.”

Their eyes are no more than an inch or two away from one another. Arthur rubs his nose against Merlin’s, one hand reaching under the sheet to rub over Merlin’s swollen belly. The pups within shift a little.

“I love you, Merlin.” Arthur moves his mouth so that their lips touch briefly, and Merlin takes in a breath, nerves sizzling at being so close to the man he adores. Arthur’s hand moves lower, fingers lightly running over Merlin’s cock, and Merlin gasps just as Arthur’s mouth meets his again, tongue easing in to touch Merlin’s.

With only kisses and the stroking of his hand, Arthur slowly brings Merlin to a deep and satisfying climax, the tightening in his lower belly mimicking the first stages of labor. It fails to bring it on, however, and Merlin lies panting, watching Arthur provocatively lick Merlin’s cum off his fingers. When Merlin’s caught his breath, he orders Arthur to straddle him.

“Feed me that thing,” he demands huskily.

“Bossy bitch,” Arthur chides before sliding the tip of his cock past Merlin’s lips. Merlin feels the prominent vein against his tongue and moans. Soon Arthur is fucking his mouth, albeit gently. Merlin slaps Arthur’s butt, reminding him Merlin’s not an invalid, and Arthur speeds the motion of his hips. Merlin takes it, although he has to use his hands to help, making Arthur as wet as possible. The more Merlin gags and chokes, the more aroused Arthur becomes, so Merlin really puts on a show for his mate, eyes filling with tears and saliva dripping down his chin. Arthur pulls out of Merlin’s mouth at the last second, pumping stripes of cum all over Merlin’s wet lips, murmuring, “Beautiful, beautiful,” over and over again, lids heavy with lust and love.

Merlin cleans Arthur up with his mouth, enjoying this as much as he does everything else about loving his mate, and when they settle down in the bed to sleep, he pulls Arthur’s arms even more tightly around him, simply thankful.


	81. Family Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For QuestionableSanity, who asked for more M/A time with their kids.

 

Merlin’s awakened by the singular sensation of a tiny, wet finger being inserted in his ear.

“Mmph,” he mutters, shrugging his shoulder.

“Da, it’s time to get up,” Ella says, voice way too loud for so early in the morning.

“Who says?” Merlin asks into his pillow.

“I do,” she chirps, pulling at strands of his hair. “Your hair looks _awful_! Want me to brush it for you?”

“No, thanks, but I think your father’s pretty blond hair needs attention.”

Merlin hears Arthur’s grunt of annoyance as Ella turns to pounce on him, and smiles with satisfaction.

A moment later, just as he’s drifting back to sleep, Merlin smells peanut butter and opens one eye to find Arty standing in front of him holding a sandwich.

“Is that your breakfast?” Merlin asks, and Arty nods, chewing what must be a tremendous bite, judging from the size of his cheeks.

A little surprised to see Arty without his brother, Merlin asks, “Where’s Em?”

“Here I am!” Em pops up from beneath the bed, and Merlin jerks with a start, heart rising to his throat.

“Holy f--, good grief, Merlin Jr.! You nearly scared the life out of me! Or at the least, these pups!” Merlin gasps.

“But that would be a good thing, wouldn’t it?” Em asks, leaning against the bed, precocious as always. “They’re late.”

“Yes, they are, but I don’t want them scrambling out all at once, thank you very much,” Merlin rolls onto his back and looks over at Arthur. A huge smile spreads over his face when he finds him with tiny braids sticking out all over his head.

Arthur scowls.

“Doesn’t Daddy look pretty?” Ella asks, bouncing on her knees. “I used that gooey stuff to keep them in.” She points to the petroleum jelly Merlin keeps by the bed.

“Absolutely lovely,” Merlin replies, lips twitching dangerously. “In fact, he looks so lovely, he shouldn’t take them out all day!”

Out of Ella’s line of vision, Arthur’s eyes narrow, shooting daggers at Merlin.

“I’m afraid I can’t possibly do drills with the men wearing these, luv, as pretty as they are,” Arthur replies sweetly. “They’ll get in the way of my…er….” He looks to Merlin for help, but Merlin just raises his brows, pressing his lips together to stop the laughter threatening to come out. “My, um…”

“Your helmet?” Ella supplies innocently, finishing the last braid, a rather haphazard one sticking out at the top of Arthur’s head, making him look at bit like…like…oh, gods, Merlin can’t even think of a good analogy. He turns his head away, dying to laugh.

“Why is your face so red?” Arty asks, sandwich spilling out of his mouth and onto the floor.

Merlin can’t stand it. Tears running out his eyes, his body shakes with laughter. Collum appears in the doorway.

“There you are!” He looks at Arthur. “Oh, wow.”

“See Daddy’s pretty braids, Col?” Ella asks, standing and jumping on the bed. She makes a sudden, wild leap into Collum’s arms.

“Indeed I do, Ella! That’s your most fantastic creation yet, I must say!”

Arthur pulls himself up to a sitting position, careful not to let the sheet slip too far down, as he isn’t dressed.

“Come, you three, and join the others downstairs,” Collum instructs. “Arty, you’re making an awful mess.”

“We need a dog to clean it up,” Em states.

“Wolves don’t have dogs as pets,” Ella tells him.

“A ferret, then.”

“Wolves don’t have ferrets, either,” Ella tells him.

“A pig, then,” Em says, unperturbed. Merlin can hear them arguing all the way down the stairs.

“Are you finished mocking me?” Arthur asks.

Merlin looks over at him, blond braids sticking out all over his head, and begins to chuckle anew, shaking his head. “Not by far,” he replies, squeezing out the words between gasps. “You…you…you know you can’t take those out until you leave the house.” He wipes his eyes. “She’ll be crushed.”

Arthur sighs, throwing the sheet back and getting out of bed. Merlin’s somewhat sobered by the sight of Arthur’s nudity, braids be damned.

“Arthur…I really think a good fuck will bring these pups on,” Merlin says after a moment of watching his mate stride around the room arrogantly.

It doesn’t, though, but Merlin’s quite satisfied when they walk down to breakfast, although his bum’s a bit sore. He thinks Arthur got out a bit of his frustration at being laughed at, but it did make for a wild ride. Merlin has no complaints.

They have a quiet breakfast, as the children are busy with a lesson on colours that Sigmund somehow manages to deliver without speaking. Knowing that he can’t talk, they are actually quieter and more well-behaved for him than they are for anyone else.

When Arthur finishes up, he starts upstairs to remove the braids and wash out his hair when Ella appears. “Dad, you can wear the braids to show your men, and then take them out before you put your helmet on,” she says brightly. “’Cause you want them to see, right?”

Arthur stops. “Um. Right. He turns and heads for the door. When he kisses Merlin, Merlin’s eyes twinkle.

“You have a good day, sweetheart,” Merlin tells him. “You look fantastic!” He leans in to whisper in his ear. “I want you to wear those braids _every_ time you fuck me!”

Arthur grits his teeth. “Shut _up_ , _Mer_ lin,” he replies, too low for Ella to hear.

There’s a knock on the door. Arthur opens it to find Leon standing there. “I was on my way back from Ronan’s…Arthur, your…” Leon’s mouth twitches.

“Ella did my hair today,” Arthur replies loudly, stepping aside so that Leon can catch sight of the little girl behind him. “Isn’t it lovely?”

Leon’s eyes move to Ella and then back to Arthur’s hair. “Yes…yes! Simply divine, Ella! Nice job. The men will adore it.”

Ella beams.

“Let’s be on our way, then Arthur,” Leon leads Arthur out.

Ella runs happily back to join her siblings, and Merlin turns to clean the kitchen.

~~~

“Tell me what you like,” Pete says to Mithian. He has her hands behind her back, and he’s rutting her hard.

“Remember that…time…Cenred and Mordred caught me…sucking you off?” she asks. “And you had me…keep going?”

Pete barks out a laugh. “You liked that?” he asks. “Should’ve known. I think I get you now, Mith. I don’t think we’ll have any more problems. But you won’t cuckold me again, you hear? Or you’ll be hurting. No other alpha will have what’s mine. If you like people watching, that can be arranged. I happen to know of a sweet set-up for that.” Pete pulls out of her, leaving her wanting. “Put something on. We’re going to Brionna’s.”

~~~

Arthur faces his men wearing his braids with dignity, telling him his daughter did his hair that morning and if any of them dared laugh, they could fight him one-on-one. He wears them until lunch, where Ella squeals with delight to see him, and Merlin’s face softens with love.

“But now, I’m afraid, Daddy must wear his helmet the rest of the day, so the braids have to come out,” Arthur manages to appear disappointed, though his head is beginning to itch.

“I’ll take them out for you,” Ella tells him, getting a stool.

“I am going to fuck you senseless tonight,” Merlin promises him quietly, eyes bold, and Arthur gets hard so fast, his pants rip in the crotch, and he has to change.

“I think Mordred’s going into labour,” Cenred tells Arthur when training resumes. “I’ve sent him to the omega den.”

“Go be with him,” Arthur tells him, and Cenred doesn’t argue, quickly running off. Arthur watches him go. Mordred is having his pups, and Merlin should have had his two weeks ago. Every day that passes without them coming makes Arthur more and more anxious. Merlin is uncomfortable and unable to defend himself should something happen. Arthur has got to bring him to labour somehow. He resolves to do it that night; the moon is nearly full, and the time is right.


	82. New Arrivals

 

Arthur considers not telling Merlin that Mordred’s in labour, but he quickly discards that idea; Merlin is likely to hear about it from someone, and he won’t take kindly to Arthur keeping it from him.

Merlin, of course, wants to head straight over to the omega den. Since it’s practically in their backyard, Arthur doesn’t protest. They walk over after dinner to find Mordred pushing the second and final pup out. Two girls, fluffy and sleepy-eyed, mewing loudly for milk.

Cenred’s over the moon. He names one Eunice, after his real mother, and tells Mordred to name the other. Mordred thinks for a moment and decides upon Margot.

“Because I don’t want to name her after my sister outright, but I still want to remember the good part of Morgause, you know?”

“I understand,” Cenred says. “It sounds enough like her name to remind you of her.” He kisses Mordred’s head.

Mordred shifts to nurse the pups while Merlin and Arthur continue admiring them, although Arthur can’t help casting subversive glances at Merlin and wondering when in the hell he’s going to go into labour. He wants to take him back to the bedroom and give him orgasm after orgasm until he does.

Will and Phineas arrive, having heard the news of the pups’ arrival.

“How is Nim?” Merlin asks Phineas after they coo over Eunice and Margot.

“The same.” Phineas looks like he hasn’t slept in several nights. When Merlin comments on this, he answers, “I can’t! I’m afraid I’ll wake up and not have any mates at all!” He shudders, and Merlin pulls him into an embrace made awkward by the size of their pregnant bellies.

A bark from a guard alerts them to something going on outside, and everyone exits the house except for Cenred and Mordred. Sid approaches Arthur.

“I’ve been looking for you, Alpha. There’s a strange wolf at the gates. He wants to speak with you.”

Arthur moves forward, and Merlin makes to follow, but Arthur turns and tells Will and Phineas to keep him there.

Merlin scowls. “Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck in an _I Love Lucy_ episode.”

“You and Will certainly fit the parts of Lucy and Ethel,” Phineas laughs.

Merlin’s willing to take the gibe just to hear Phineas laugh like that. He smiles. “Let’s go in my house for tea and wait for the news.”

When Arthur returns sometime later, he has Leon and Percy with him. The three omegas have finished their tea and are playing with Igraine and Anastasia on the floor of the living room.

“It was a servant of the elders,” Arthur sits in his favorite over-sized chair by the fireplace and takes Igraine on his lap. “Simon sent him to tell us that he’ll be returning with Gwaine, who is very ill. The book isn’t completely translated, but time may be short. Simon wants Lance to lay hands on Gwaine.”

“How is he going to get Gwaine back here?” Merlin asks, stacking the toys away in a box.

“That’s why he sent the messenger. He wants us to bring him a sled. A few men can shift and pull Gwaine back here,” Arthur replies. “I’ve already dispatched a group. They should be home by the end of the week. ”

“Did Simon say what’s wrong with Gwaine?” Phineas asks fretfully.

“He didn’t know. A fever,” Arthur says. “Phineas, go lie down upstairs. You need your rest. Merlin, go with him. Perhaps you can get him to sleep.”

Merlin gives his mate a look that says, _I know what you’re doing—you’re trying to get me to sleep, too—_ but he obeys, taking the girls with them.

“Let’s go home, Will,” Leon holds out his hand.

“Donald will be waiting for me,” Percy adds. “Goodnight, Alpha.”

Arthur sighs, taking a moment to sit and stare off into space. It’s getting late, and the nearly full moon pulls at them all. He rubs his eyes, worried about his second. Gwaine’s been Arthur’s best friend for as long as he can remember, and the fact that he might be dying hurts Arthur terribly. He can only hope that Lance will be able to help him.

After a time, Arthur stands, stretches, and heads upstairs for a shower, taking extra minutes under the hot water, waiting for his tight muscles to relax. He checks on the children. They’re all asleep, Em and Arty tangled up together, and the girls lined up in a neat row. Arthur continues down the hall. Collum and Sigmund’s door is cracked, and Arthur peeks in. The two young men lie entwined in the middle of the bed, peacefully asleep.

When Arthur gets to the master bedroom, he immediately regrets having Merlin lie down with Phineas. Now both are asleep, and what is Arthur supposed to do, wake up Phineas and tell him to go home? With a sigh, he climbs into his side of the bed, leaving Merlin in between them. Merlin curls up to Arthur, naturally gravitating toward him, hand falling to rest on Arthur’s groin.

“Don’t start something we can’t finish,” Arthur whispers. “We have company tonight.”

Merlin brushes his long fingers lightly over Arthur’s cock. “We omegas have no boundaries where physical touch is concerned,” he replies, leaning in to take the rim of Arthur’s ear between his lips.

“Does that mean you plan to share me?” Arthur asks, shivering at the feel of Merlin’s tongue on his ear.

Merlin pulls back. “No! Of course not. Don’t even think it.” His hand tightens around Arthur’s cock as if to say, _Mine!_

“It only means that, where physical love is concerned, we aren’t particularly shy.” Merlin kisses Arthur’s neck, jaw, and cheek before moving to partake of his mouth. Arthur kisses him back, opening his lips to accept Merlin’s questing tongue. Soon he’s groaning, pulling his mate closer, smooth skin under his hands.

Arthur finds the crevice between Merlin’s arse cheeks and explores with his fingers, making Merlin pant between brushes of his lips. He pushes a finger in, and Merlin cries out. Phinny continues to snore heavily next to them, oblivious, so Merlin climbs eagerly onto Arthur’s erect cock and begins to ride him.

Arthur pets Merlin’s belly. “I wish the pups would come,” he tells Merlin, gently thrusting upward as Merlin leans forward and hangs onto the headboard.

Merlin’s mouth falls open in pleasure. He rests on his knees, allowing Arthur to do all the work.

“They’ll…come when they’re…ready,” he pants, his cock waggling between them, dripping clear omega cum onto Arthur’s chest. Arthur swipes a finger into it, feeding it to Merlin, smearing it over his pretty lips. He speeds up his thrusts at the sight, delighting in the way Merlin’s thick cock begins to slap against his stomach.

“I’m going to knot…” Arthur warns Merlin in a tight voice just before pushing the giant bulge against Merlin’s sensitive rim.

“Ohhhhh…gods, Arthur,” Merlin squirms. “Feelssogood.” Merlin pushes back on the knot, his climax running over him in waves. Arthur watches the tremors rush through, taking Merlin’s stiff cock in hand and pulling out every bit of cum that he can while Merlin keens his approval, arching his back against Arthur’s raised knees.

They rest a moment, and then Arthur begins to thrust again with vigor. His knot breaks, and Merlin comes a second time, hard, gasping and writhing, fingers seeking Arthur’s and holding on.

“Holy SHIT!” Merlin cries out, and Phineas snorts awake beside them, but Arthur’s too far gone to care, thrusting toward his own climax. He lets out a moan as he pours into Merlin, holding his mate’s hips down to keep him flush against Arthur’s body as he does so.

Arthur’s squeezed his eyes so tightly shut, his head hurts. As the dizziness clears and the buzzing in his ears stops, he slowly comes to the awareness that Phineas has left the bed.

“What…? Did…huh.” Arthur finds he can’t form a coherent sentence.

“He decided to sleep in the guest room,” Merlin grins, pulling off Arthur. “No worries. He just thought we were a bit loud.”

Arthur wipes the sweat off his brow. “That was--terrific.” He smiles.

“I agree,” Merlin gets a tissue and wipes off Arthur’s stomach before snuggling up to him with a deep kiss. “Sleepy.”

Arthur would have preferred to hear Merlin say, “I’m in labour,” but he pulls Merlin to him and closes his eyes. “G’night, luv.”


	83. More Arrivals and a Mating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sionn is pronounced "Shoon."  
> As always, thank you for the lovely comments. I always enjoy them. <3

 

Merlin begins having pains the next day, but they don’t get him anywhere fast.

A low ache radiates around his lower back, making him moan periodically while he goes about his daily business.

“I’m not in labour,” he assures Arthur. “But I’m getting there.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Arthur huffs, worried about leaving him in order to go do drills with his men.

“I’ll send someone for you; don’t worry,” Merlin assures him. “It may be a long while.”

Truer words were never spoken. When Arthur comes home for dinner, Merlin’s still aching, but he’s not in labour. Gaius has come by to check him out, and Arthur finds Sigmund rubbing scented oil into Merlin’s back, tears in Merlin’s eyes. Arthur pauses at their bedroom door, watching.

“Do you hurt that much?” he asks sympathetically.

Merlin nods. “It’s gotten worse and worse, but the pups haven’t dropped,” he tells him.

“Do you want to go to the omega den?” Arthur asks. “I’ll carry you.”

“No, I want to be here. I want to have them here,” Merlin replies, tears trickling down his cheeks, a pillow clutched against his chest. “Go eat and shower, then come be with me.”

Arthur nods and goes back downstairs to eat with the kids.

Will arrives while they’re eating, and Arthur directs him upstairs. Arthur helps Collum put the children to bed. They’re excited about the pups coming, and therefore extra difficult.

“I hope they’re all boys,” Em states. “Don’t you, Arty? We’re outnumbered by girls.”

“Yes,” Arty nods emphatically. “But if they’re boys, Em,” he pauses, “they’ll have to sleep with us…and we won’t have so much room anymore.” He looks at their big bed.

Em rolls about in it. “That’s true. Maybe it's better to have more girls so it's just the two of us.”

“Into bed with the two of you,” Arthur tells them. “We can’t control whether they’re boys are girls. We’ll love them, whichever they are. Scoot.”

“Will Daddy be all right?” Ella asks, standing on her tiptoes for a kiss.

“Of course, princess,” Arthur tells her. He kisses each of his daughters before tucking them in.

“Tell him we love him,” Igraine instructs.

“Tell him not to tire himself,” Anastasia adds.

“Tell him to have them tonight before we wake up,” Hunith says.

“I will. Goodnight.” Arthur turns out the light.

He checks on Merlin and finds Will rubbing his head, and moves on to the bathroom, taking a thorough shower, worrying the entire time. Merlin’s first pregnancy and labor wasn’t like this at all. Arthur doesn’t like not knowing what to expect; it unsettles him. He returns in his robe and lies down behind Merlin. He isn’t particularly thrilled at having Will there, but he isn’t going to kick him out if Merlin desires his presence. Arthur knows that omegas are social creatures, particularly during times of stress. They need touch, and they crave the presence of other omegas. In fact, Arthur is pretty sure that more omegas will show up presently.

He’s right. It isn’t long before Phineas, Donald, and Bronwyn enter the room, all taking a moment to pet Merlin and croon over him. Arthur stays against Merlin’s back, finally shedding his robe and pushing against him, skin against skin, wrapping his arm around Merlin’s middle and burying his nose in Merlin’s neck. The lights are low, and every so often Merlin moans when a pain overtakes him. Arthur can tell that Merlin’s aches are getting stronger and closer to real labour. He reaches down and pulls Merlin’s right leg up and over his own, his cock nudging at Merlin’s opening, which gapes, wet and inviting. Merlin bares his neck submissively, and Arthur thrusts in, at the same time biting down on his mark, causing Merlin to suck in a breath, his abdomen contracting. Arthur ruts into him several times as Will whispers encouragement to him, reaching down to pull on Merlin’s half-hard cock.

Donald pets Merlin’s thigh while Bronwyn rubs at a pebbled nipple. Merlin closes his eyes and moans. It’s a weird sort of orgy, Arthur thinks, fucking into his omega’s channel, tight with descending pups. The sensation is singularly erotic, and Arthur knots suddenly, pushing up past Merlin’s rim, making him squirm and call out.

“Oh, oh, _fuck_ , Arthur! Here they come!”

Arthur is tied, and the pups are on their way out, pushing against his cock. He gasps.

“Break the knot!” Will tells him.

“How?” Arthur asks, frantic.

“Hurry!” Merlin begins to panic, breathing hard. “I have to push! I can’t hold off. Will, do something!”

Will bites his lip, looking between Merlin and Arthur before reaching between Merlin’s legs and gently cradling Arthur’s ball sac, massaging, reaching a finger farther back to stroke Arthur’s soft perineum. Arthur’s eyes widen before rolling back in his head and his knot breaks, shooting sperm into Merlin as Arthur eases his cock out.

“Go ahead and push, Merlin,” Will tells his friend, and Merlin gives a great heave in which two babies slide out one after the other.

“Holy, fuck,” Merlin shudders as he does so, then lies gasping. “That’s got to be the first time anyone’s ever come while pushing babies out!"

And since there was no time to shift, that’s what they are: Two baby boys. The others hurry to clean them up and get them breathing.

“Will they be able to shift to nurse?” Donald worries.

“I have sterilized bottles and formula ready just in case,” Merlin says. “Will you get them, Bronwyn?”

She nods and leaves for the kitchen.

Arthur peeks over Merlin’s shoulder at their new sons. It’s unusual to see newborn wolf babies in their human form like this. “They’re so small!” he marvels, watching them squirm and grunt. Donald brings clean blankets and swaddles them, handing one baby to each of his fathers. When Bronwyn returns, both Arthur and Merlin take a bottle and feed their new sons.

~~~

Later that afternoon Ronan stops by.

“I would like to know your decision about Ros, Alpha. Is he mine to mate?”

Arthur’s been putting this off for a while. Merlin expressed a wish to see Ros mated to the dominant alpha, but Arthur’s heard things about Ronan and his proclivity for bdsm, and he hates to send the pregnant omega to him.

“I have someone else in mind, Ronan.” When he sees that Ronan is about to argue, Arthur sets his shoulders and begins to shut the door. “My vixen has just had pups. If you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course, Alpha,” Ronan is forced to say, backing away from the door.

Arthur sighs. He needs to make a choice for Ros now.

He waits a moment before opening the door and giving a short bark for Sid. “Please fetch Sionn for me.”

When Sid returns with the large man, Arthur looks him over. “Sionn, you are a capable man. I would like to give Ros to you for a mate. He is heavy with pups, and I entrust you to care for them when they’re born.”

“With all respect, Alpha,” Sionn appears uncomfortable. “I don’t know what these pups are. I mean, the army we are expecting…they are related to them, am I correct?”

Arthur narrows his eyes. “It is no fault of these pups that they may be vaguely related to our enemy, Sionn. Perhaps I misjudged your intelligence. You are also one of the commanders of my troops…”

“No, Alpha. No. I am very pleased and proud that you have thought of me. I would be happy to take Ros as mate and his pups as my own.”

Arthur nods. “Good. I want him mated now. I will take you to him in the omega den to see it done. Collum!” he calls to the nanny.

“Yes, Arthur,” Collum appears with Arty in his arms.

“Please tell Merlin I am going to the omega den to witness a mating. I will be back shortly.”

Collum nods, and Arty holds his arms out to his father. Arthur gives him a kiss and ruffles his blond hair.

“Later, sport. I love you.”

He walks with Sionn across the back yard to the house in the distance. There are a few omegas in heat inside, and Arthur orders them into a room. “Close the door,” he tells them.

Ros looks up from where he’s knitting.

“Ros,” Arthur begins, “I have brought Sionn to mate you. It’s time that another took you.” Ros nods, his eyes roaming over Arthur. Arthur ignores this foolish behavior, turning to Sionn and giving him a signal to get on with it. Sionn begins to undress as Arthur stands back in the shadows. Ros rises from the couch, stripping off his tunic and loose pants, climbing up on the chair to present to Sionn, although Arthur thinks he’s pointed more towards him than Sionn.

Sionn runs a large hand down Ros’s back before testing his entrance. His finger comes out dripping, so he lines himself up and pushes in. Ros turns his head, meeting Arthur’s eyes, mouth falling open on a moan of pleasure and back arching lustily. Arthur starts at the wanton gesture. He presses his lips together with annoyance as Ros begins pushing back, fucking himself on Sionn’s cock. Sionn responds enthusiastically, soon having him tied, and Ros makes an inordinate amount of noise as he comes all over the chair.

Sionn lowers his sharp canines and bites Ros’s exposed neck over the faded mark already there, and Arthur swears he hears his own name on Ros’s lips. He’s seen enough, and exits the house.

At home, he finds Merlin sitting up in bed feeding one of the babies. They’re identical twins, and after some consideration, they name them Michael and Matthew.

“Who mated?” Merlin asks, lifting up his face for the kiss Arthur offers.

“Sionn and Ros,” Arthur tells him, taking a seat beside Merlin and leaning in to kiss the baby on its soft head. “Which one is this?”

“Matthew,” Merlin answers, smiling fondly down at the baby before raising questioning eyes back to Arthur. “What about Ronan?”

“Merlin, even Ros doesn’t deserve to be chained and whipped,” Arthur replies. “Sionn will keep him in line.” But already Arthur’s doubting his choice, remembering Ros’s eyes on him and his name whispered on Ros’ lips.


	84. Bonfire with New Packs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, error before. Sionn is pronounced "Shoon."  
> Anthony gave me the idea to get Clyde in more trouble.

All around the ranch, the fires of the visiting packs burn. Already the Pendragon pack is acquainted with them, and Arthur has involved them in drills.

There is the Munson pack, made up mostly of rough, fighting wolves, and the Gibson pack, a mixture of types, but with some strong alpha males. On the trip to find them, the scouts encountered a few rogue wolves willing to fight for their cause. During one of the nightly bonfires where the packs gather to eat and socialize upon Arthur’s orders, one of them, an older wolf called Earc— tall, with a long, greying beard that he keeps plaited, and arms like tree trunks—tells Arthur about meeting an elder once high in the mountains.

“Her hair was white as snow and so was her skin,” Earc says, and Leon scoots over so he can hear, too. Will sticks close to him, having done so ever since the evening when he came home smelling of Arthur after helping Merlin give birth. Leon had not been amused, and Will hadn’t been able to sit down properly for a week. He keeps an eye on Clyde as he listens to Earc talk. The boy flirts outrageously with an alpha lad from the Munson pack, only toning it down a bit when Will gives him a warning growl.

“She found me when I was raving with the wolf fever,” Earc is saying when Will turns his attention that way, “and she nursed me back to health in her cave. It was a curious place—full of crystals and such. I managed to take one with me, a beautiful thing. The water she gave me was clearer and more pure than any I’ve tasted before or since. In between sleeping, I’d see her meditating. She’d sit in the nude on a rock, withered body looking like it’d blow away in a strong wind. She’d chant words I didn’t understand.” Earc pauses to think back, a curious look on his face. “I asked her once, after I was better and almost ready to leave, if she would ever leave her caves. She told me no…that she was safe there, in the company of the Father Wolf when he came to visit. And that when she died, he would scatter her ashes on the wind. She also said that when she and the Father Wolf mated, they produced a child called a Cloud Dog. I think that’s what she said, at least. I could have dreamt that part.”

Will tries to imagine what the elder woman might have looked like, but soon loses interest. He’s never been one for flights of fancy. He looks at the faces around the bonfire, catching sight of Phineas, who unfolds himself in readiness to head back to his house where both his mates convalesce. When the sled carrying Gwaine arrived a couple of weeks ago, Lance immediately laid hands on him. There has been some improvement, but he’s still quite ill. Nim has done a little better, and now sits up in bed. Before locking himself away to pore over the unfinished translation, Gaius said he believes that Gwaine gave in to simple exhaustion, along with a strain of the wolf fever, which has been running rampant through the forests.

“Alpha Arthur,” Will hears Earc ask, “do you have anyone…” he coughs. “How do I put this delicately? As a rogue wolf, I find myself lonely at times. I would like someone to pass the evening with. Is there such a willing person here? Preferably a female.”

Will looks to Arthur, curious as to his answer, giving Leon’s knee a nudge with his own, because there’s only one person Will can think of, and he knows his mate is thinking along the same lines. A week ago Pete threw Mithian out, having found out that even though Pete had made their sex life as kinky as possible, the girl still insisted on cheating on him at every opportunity, and it has become a well-known fact in the pact.

Arthur takes a deep breath. “I can’t speak for the young woman myself, but I can point you to her,” he replies, directing Earc to Mithian, who sits on the other side of the bonfire sucking on an ear of corn in a manner that makes Earc adjust his slacks.

Will jumps when he hears Leon’s growl, and turns to find him jerking their son away from an older alpha female.

“Clyde, home, NOW!” Leon tells him, and they follow their sulking boy to the house. Once inside, they seat him on the couch. Leon hovers menacingly, but Will sinks into a nearby chair, feeling huge. He must be carrying seven pups this time, he knows. He’s so tired and so ungainly, he can’t manage walking three steps without heaving like a bellows. He doesn’t have the energy for this at all and even begins to nod off when Leon’s shout jolts him awake.

“What do you mean, you don’t care!”

“I mean, if you would just mate me, you could wash your hands of me for good!” Clyde shouts. “I want to be mated, Father!”

Leon points a finger at him. “You’re too young!”

“Obviously, I’m not. Have you looked at me lately?” Clyde asks, standing up. “I’ve matured early. Look at me! Really _look_!”

Leon steps back, his eyes running over the muscular planes of Clyde’s body and the large bulge pushing against his pants. It is truly an omega cock. The back of Clyde’s trousers is sopping with omega lubrication; he is ready to be mated, there is no doubt about it. Leon looks to Will, who nods tiredly.

Leon seems to deflate. “There isn’t anyone appropriate,” he says weakly.

“There are lots of people,” Clyde says.

“You’ll have to wait until I go through them,” Leon tells his son. “Don’t let them touch you. We’ll do this my way, understand?” He gives Clyde a look that makes the boy cower back into the sofa. Clyde nods, but when he’s safely in his room, he sneaks out the window and runs back to the bonfire, where he finds Sully and pulls him aside.

“Father’s agreed to let me mate,” he tells him, body burning to be touched. He can feel his heat coming on again.

“Cool! My dad says the same, but I don’t know who yet. I hope it’s Vince.”

Clyde likes Vince, too, but he also likes Tasha and wonders what a female alpha’s like. He’s heard about the clitoris-penis and wonders what it would feel like inside him. He says as much to Sully.

“Why don’t we find out tonight? Look at those two.” He points to two alpha females from the Gibson pack. “Look at the way they’re looking at us, yeah?”

They smile flirtatiously at the girl alphas, and a moment later, the females approach them, noses scenting curiously.


	85. Anunnaki

 

“Clyde!” Audrey’s voice is like ice down his back. His sister comes up behind him, grabbing his arm, the awful alpha testosterone she’s been emitting lately burning his nostrils and making him want to submit.

“Didn’t you just get grounded?”

“And what would you know about it?” Clyde asks. “I swear, you’re so lame these days, Audrey.”

Audrey gives the two alpha girls a glare. “Get lost.”

“No, _you_ get lost!” Clyde growls at her.

“I’m going to get Dad,” Audrey tells him. “Before you get yourself into some major trouble.”

“Man, you are so uncool,” Clyde rolls his eyes. He tries to remain cool himself, but inside he’s shaking. If his dad finds him, he’s going to kill him.

“I think she’s pretty cool,” Sully says suddenly, and Audrey looks at him, surprised.

“You do?”

“Sure,” he smiles. “You know, Clyde and I are just talking to these girls…Clyde’s going to slip in his window in just a few minutes, aren’t you, Clyde?”

“Uh, oh, yeah,” Clyde sulks.

“Can’t you give him a few, Aud? Promise I’ll have him back home in thirty minutes, tops. If not, you can tell your parents.”

Audrey looks at the ground a minute, then back at Sully, then at her brother.

“Okay, thirty minutes. But that’s it!” She stalks off.

Sully smiles. “Come on, girls, I think we might want to get acquainted?”

Clyde’s heat is building, and he doesn’t mean to let things go so far, not really, but the alpha girl is so _hot_ …she’s got to be nineteen-years-old, and her tits are so big. Clyde can see Sully being mounted by the other girl, and that’s a turn-on in itself, but when he feels this chick—he doesn’t even know her name—kissing all over him, and then sees that thing between her legs spring out…

He’s a goner.

His face is buried in the grass, and that weird cock she has flutters inside him, making him crazy. His voice is hoarse with shouting, and dirt’s getting under his fingernails. Suddenly, it’s as though something bites him inside, right on that sensitive place she keeps stroking and he yells, “Holy mother of wolves!” his body shaking all over. “What’s happening?”

“We’re tied, sugar,” the alpha female purrs in his ear, her tits smashed against his back. “You know, I have half a mind to bite you. You’d make a cute little mate.”

Clyde’s heart almost stops at her words. _Shit!_

“P-please, no!” He starts to wiggle. “No, no…” he tries to pull away, but that _thing_ inside him as got hold of him and won’t let go. An orgasm rolls over him, and he spasms and cries out again.

“Whatsamatter, sugar?” the girl asks. “You don’t like me or something? You seemed to like me a minute ago.” She pinches his arse.

“It’s…it’s just…” tears spring to Clyde’s eyes and he feels like a fool. “I don’t want to leave my pack.” To his utter horror, he starts to sob. Amidst all this, the girl finishes with him and lets him go. She seems a little insulted.

“Well, you don’t have to cry about it. I’m not into mating against a boy’s will,” she tells him, pulling her dress on over her head. Clyde can see her odd labia flaps shriveling up and the clitoris-penis wilting. All in all, he thinks he prefers boys.

Sully’s smoking a cigarette, his girl already dressed and waiting for her friend.

“That was awesome!” Sully breathes. “I’ve never felt anything like it. Hey, man, what’s wrong?”

Clyde wipes his face. “I gotta get home.” He turns and runs for his house, slipping in the window, glad to find his room still dark and empty. He finds some wet wipes to clean up with and slips into bed, shivering. What would have happened if that girl had mated him? Would he even have gotten to say goodbye to his family? He rolls over, but it’s a long time before he can get to sleep.

~~~

“So I hear you might be up for a bit of fun?” Earc says to the girl who lounges by the bonfire. She looks up at him defiantly. She’s very pretty, and her large eyes travel over his body in a way that says she’s familiar with the male form.

“Who says that?”

“I’ve just heard it around. I’m a lone wolf, here to help with the army. Name’s Earc,” he holds out a hand.

“Strange name,” Mithian says, but she takes his hand, letting him pull her to her feet, and follows him through the throng of people out past the warmth of the fire to where there are a few lone campfires set under the blanket of night sky.

“You’re awfully pretty to be a whore,” Earc tells her.

“I’m not a whore!” Mithian states. “I’ve been mated, but my mate didn’t please me.” She looks him over. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Stunned, Earc unbuckles his trousers and lets them drop.

“Hm. Big enough, I guess,” Mithian considers. She gets to her knees and goes down on him, and Earc almost loses his footing. He grabs onto her hair, gathering it in his hands as she works away at him. He’s good at holding his seed in, and he can tell she’s impressed when he doesn’t blow after she tries every trick in the book. When she finally pulls off, he’s as stiff as a board. She stands, a bit wobbly, and he holds out a hand to steady her, his cock pointing straight at her chin.

“Take off the rest of your clothes,” she tells him, and he does. He’s beta, so he doesn’t particularly mind being ordered about by a bossy beta woman. Mithian walks about to stand behind him. Suddenly he feels a sharp slap at his backside.

“Nice arse,” she tells him. He raises a brow, but says nothing. “Know what I’d love to do to you?” she whispers in his ear. “I’d love to strap on a cock and fuck that arse of yours.” Her eyes move to his cock, watching it. When he doesn’t wilt like a flower in the heat at her words, she looks at him with real surprise, her pretty lips parting.

“Sounds like fun,” Earc grins wolfishly, and Mithian smiles tentatively back at him.

~~~

“Anunnaki,” Gaius repeats, and Gwaine nods.

Gwaine is still weak, but he can move about now. He doesn’t think he’d even be alive right now if it weren’t for Lance laying hands on him repeatedly over the course of several weeks. He’s never felt so vulnerable as he did when waking to find himself no stronger than a kitten and his true mate in similar straits. Poor Phineas had looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks, and round with pups. Gwaine’s ordered complete bed rest for him until he delivers.

Gwaine sits at the council meeting, his body sore from the light work-out he gave it that morning, along with the slow, tentative sex he and Nim indulged in the night before. It had been so long, and her body had felt so good.

“That’s the name the elder read to me, too. He seemed certain of it,” Gwaine tells the group seated before him, including his Alpha.

“Aliens from the underworld?” Arthur asks, incredulous. “Are you sure?”

Both Gwaine and Gaius nod.

“We never finished the translation, but they seem intent on taking over,” Gwaine replies, shivering when he remembers the elder’s face when he’d translated the words.

“Is that even possible?” Arthur asks “The humans, too?”

“Have you heard of the illness that’s sweeping through the human world?” Earc asks. Arthur has asked him to sit on the council, as he’s taken a liking to the rogue wolf. Gwaine’s found the man to be trustworthy and reliable, also. Until that moment, Earc has been quiet, listening while Gaius spoke, a stunned expression on his face.

“I thought that was just a rumor,” Simon puts in.

Earc shakes his head. “I did, too, until entire cities began to die out. When Gaius read that passage, it all clicked. The humans are being killed off. The wolves are next. The Pendragons are the most influential pack among us—everyone knows that. They really must be coming here.”

“What Uallus said was true,” Leon speaks their thoughts aloud.


	86. The Sharer of Dreams

“I’m not sure they’re going to fight us physically,” Lance suddenly interjects.

“What do you mean?” Leon asks.

“Think about it,” he says. “It’s the wolf fever. It’s been everywhere.” Lance looks at Gaius. “Didn’t you tell me there was something in there about illness…a plague?”

“Indeed,” Gaius nods. “But I thought perhaps that referred to the humans.”

“The book doesn’t seems to talk about the humans anywhere else, though,” Lance points out.

“Does this mean you think wolf fever will spread?” Arthur asks. “And we’re training to fight an army for nothing?”

“Possibly,” Lance answers. “But I don’t think I’d stop training. The translation isn’t very good. One thing I’ve decided, though…my work lies with the betas. I’ve begun gathering them and teaching them to lay hands. I don’t seem to be able to get anywhere with omegas and alphas. Just betas. Sigmund was the first, but now George and Sid have picked it up. George has been laying hands on Pete, and Pete’s lumbago’s been getting better, along with his bad hip.”

Arthur looks to Gwaine. “Could it be that they’re meant to heal us when it happens?”

“That’s been my thought lately,” Gwaine smiles his first real smile in what seems like forever. “It seems that the ‘miracle’ that is prophesied in the book is coming to pass through Lance.”

Lance visibly blushes at this, and Gwaine gives him a friendly shove on the arm. “First there was the dearth of omegas, and now we have an abundance…”

“I don’t see how I can be given credit for that!” Lance interrupts.

“Maybe not overtly, but any little thing you did could have caused a domino effect,” Gwaine replies evenly.

“I’m just a regular beta,” Lance argues.

“Don’t sell yourself short, love,” Simon puts an arm around him. “I knew you were special the moment I saw you.”

“You were horny,” Lance mutters, but squeezes Simon’s hand under the table.

“Lance, I’ve always valued you,” Arthur barks at him, brooking no argument. “Beta or omega, you have been valuable to my pack.”

Lance looks away, but Gwaine can tell he’s pleased at the Alpha’s praise.

“Then the book speaks of ‘the Women of the Cave, whose offspring the Unborn Omega will Defeat,’” Gwaine continues.

“Gwen,” Arthur states, and Gwaine nods. Arthur looks to Lance. “It seems, with your help, we actually have a chance here.”

“There’s one more thing, Arthur.” Gaius’s tone brings Arthur around to face him. It still startles Gwaine to see the physician looking twenty years younger.

“The book speaks of ‘The Sharer of Dreams.’ The one who is to help the ‘beta who became omega’ in his fight against those from the underground,” Gaius tells the Alpha.

Arthur frowns. “The Sharer of Dreams?”

“Merlin,” Gaius says emphatically, and Arthur stands so quickly, he almost topples the table. Gwaine and several others grab hold of it.

“No,” Arthur states quietly, “I will not have him involved."

“He will be involved whether you will have it or not,” Gaius tells Arthur evenly. “It is prophesied.”

Arthur walks to the window, and the others around the table look at their hands or one another rather than the tense lines of Arthur’s back.

“Merlin has something to do with this, Arthur,” Gaius tells him. “He’s shared Lance’s dreams, and even had a few of his own.”

Arthur’s shoulders stiffen further. Gwaine gets up and goes to him, standing beside him without touching. He looks out at the long lines of men doing their drills.

“When it comes down to it, none of these strong men will be able to help us,” Gwaine tells his friend quietly.

“I won’t lose him,” Arthur whispers.

“He may save us all in the end, Arthur.”

~~~

“You fight well for a girl and a beta,” Earc says when he shifts from wolf to man, sweat dripping off his face.

Mithian sputters, before realizing he’s teasing her, again. Earc likes to tease, and at first Mithian hated it, but now she’s used to it and finds that sometimes she even likes it. Earc is unlike any man she’s ever met—he treats her like she’s an equal. When she asked him to teach her to fight like a male wolf, he didn’t even bat an eyelash, and she could tell he only held back a little when he had to. She feels invigorated.

She lies panting in the glade, the hot sun shining on her naked, sweat-soaked skin. And he isn’t even leering at her as most men would when she’s unclothed. She finds that makes her want him even more than she does already, and that’s a lot. She remembers two nights ago when she tested him…asked him to let her take him with her strap-on rubber cock. Involuntarily, she shivers at the memory of him offering his backside to her and how she pumped into him. And how much he loved it.

“Cold?” Earc asks, raising a brow. He’s a bit older than she is, but not as old as Pete, and certainly better built. His arms are huge…the size of Mithian’s thighs.

“No,” she whispers. “Let’s go to the river,” she suggests, and they get up and begin walking.

The water is cold this time of year, but it feels good. Mithian’s nipples draw up into tight puckers, and Earc’s do, too.

“I want to fight in the army,” she suddenly blurts out, to see what he’ll say and to get her mind off how much she wants him.

“Then you should tell Arthur,” Earc replies, surprising her.

“He’s not going to let me,” Mithian scowls.

“How do you know that if you don’t ask him?” Earc asks, floating on his back.

“I once let a human man fuck me,” Mithian tells him a moment later, watching his face instead of his cock.

Earc raises a brow. “How was it?”

“It was the best I’ve ever had,” she tells him. “I’d love to do it again.”

Earc sinks back into the water, throwing his head back and laughing.

“What are you laughing at?” Mithian splashes him full in the face. “Stop it!”

Earc tries to stifle his chuckles. “You’re lying. Human men don’t have a knot, and their cocks are not very large. There’s no way you enjoyed it more than an alpha. You just like to shock people—admit it.”

Mithian isn’t happy being analyzed this way. She starts to get out of the water, expecting Earc to stop her. When he doesn’t, she looks over her shoulder at him, glaring.

He rolls back to float on the water, closing his eyes. With a huff, Mithian walks away toward the ranch.

~~~

“Sully, do you have a minute?” Audrey asks.

“Oh, Aud, hi,” Sully says, looking up from his book.

“What are you studying?” she asks, sitting down beside him. He smells really good. She’s been trying to get the nerve up to talk to him for a week.

“Biology. Flowers in particular.”

“I didn’t know you like flowers,” she says, surreptitiously moving so her nose is closer to his shoulder.

“I think they’re interesting,” Sully says, shrugging. “Don’t tell your brother. He won’t think it’s very cool.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” she replies. “Wow, you really smell good,” she adds, because she can’t help herself. He’s like a cupcake or something. Yeah, a cupcake…fresh out of the oven.

“I do?” Sully asks, and then shivers. “Oh, oh! Yeah, well, I guess I’m going into heat. I hadn’t noticed it coming on.”

“Really?” Audrey startles where she’s sitting in the grass, moving away from him just a bit. “I didn’t realize…is that what is smells like? I mean—wow. It’s just so good.” She sniffs the air again, unconsciously leaning in and placing her nose near Sully’s neck, where the scent seems the strongest. “Delicious.”

“Aud,” Sully says, voice low, “do you want to rut me?”

Audrey jerks back as though stung. “W-what?”

“Have you ever been with an omega?” Sully asks.

“Um..no. No! No. I haven’t. I haven’t been with anyone.” Audrey blushes furiously and looks away. She feels Sully take her hand. It’s warm, and he laces their fingers together. She looks back at him, his strawberry blond hair shining in the sunlight. She loves the freckles that sprinkle over his nose and cheeks—they make him look so innocent. Like Huck Finn, maybe.

“Don’t you wanna know what it’s like?” Sully asks. “I’m getting all wet, just sitting here beside you. It’d be so easy to go back there in the bushes…you could slip inside me. It’d feel so good.”

Audrey can feel her body changing; lately it’s been doing all kinds of weird things. When she thinks of boys, or even girl omegas, her clitoris grows long and curves upward, and her labia get fat…right now it’s all pounding with her every heartbeat. She swallows, and before she knows it, Sully’s kissing her, his fingers moving over her breasts in a way that steals her breath.

They go in the bushes, and Sully undresses for her. She marvels at his fat cock, although she’s seen Clyde’s and even both her fathers’, because they’re always rutting.

Sully turns around, and his arse is so wet and inviting…he gets down on the ground, presenting for her… _for her!_ She looks down between her legs, and her clitoris-penis grows long and begins to quiver expectantly. She moves it toward the inviting little opening that’s dripping with clear fluid, and gently pushes it in.

It feels so good…sooo fucking good. Audrey slides it in and out, marveling at the cries Sully makes. That she’s making Sully make. He’s praising her, calling her a goddess or something, but she can barely hear him because of the sensations that are building inside her. And suddenly, she feels her girl-dick _snap!_ And Sully barks out a groan, shaking all over. She grasps his hips and tries to move out, but Audrey can’t. They must be tied! Gods, if feels so good. She leans over Sully, rubbing her breasts on his skin and kissing his back. He’s delicious, his smell overpowering her nostrils.

Audrey begins to lick and suck at Sully’s smooth back, marveling at how he shakes and squirms at her every touch, completely submitting. She feels that she’s come into her own; she’s an alpha, and she’s dominating this omega, her dick biting into his prostate and keeping him tied to her as she does as she pleases. Feeling bold, she reaches around and tweaks Sully’s nipples, making him call out hoarsely and wiggle against her. Her labia flaps are full, ready to burst. Audrey scents Sully again, running her nose over his spine, and then her tongue, and then her teeth. She moves toward the delicious aroma of his neck, and before she knows what she’s doing, her canines are down, and she’s biting into the tender, cupcake-scented flesh there.

Overcome, Audrey releases her sperm in a jolt of delicious ecstasy, her groin pushing against Sully’s bare arse, his blood entering her mouth as she loosely shakes his neck.

“Holy shit,” Sully breathes when it’s over, and then a little louder. “What the fuck did you do _that_ for?”


	87. Cupcake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the continued comments, everyone. I'm always in such a hurry in the mornings. <3 Not sure this is the greatest chapter title--I always have trouble with them. Still can't believe you're reading and enjoying this!

“Lance, come to bed! Are you still reading that thing?” Simon rolls over and squints at Lance with one eye.

Lance closes the huge book he somehow managed to wrangle out of Gaius’ hands, sheds his clothes, and crawls into bed with Simon.

“Fuck! You’re cold,” Simon shivers, wrapping his sleep-warm limbs around his mate and kissing his neck.

“Simon, I don’t think it’s just me,” Lance tells him, moving his head back so Simon can kiss all the way down to his collarbone.

“Mmm?”

“It’s been bothering me…this whole messiah thing,” Lance tells him, gasping a little as Simon uses his teeth on sensitive skin. “It’s not just me, though. It’s betas in general. Sigmund affected Gaius before I had anything to do with him. And ever wonder why Leon’s kids matured like they did? Their school teacher’s beta and sees them every day. I’m sure that’s it. Something’s happened with all the betas. It’s like they’ve come into their own.”

“But why?” Simon lifts his head and looks at Lance.

“I don’t know,” Lance frowns. “Perhaps it was always meant to be. Or there was a shift of some sort…I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Maybe it was that earthquake a while back--before Arthur mated Merlin…who knows? But something happened, and things began to change, and all I know is, the betas began to change. And it isn’t only me. I was dying, and the Father Wolf gave me a choice, but other betas have ways to help. And then there’s Merlin.”

“ _The Sharer of Dreams_ ,” Simon replies, looking down at Lance in the darkness of their bedroom.

“Right. I spoke with him earlier, much to Arthur’s dismay, and Merlin told me he doesn’t know much about his background. Only that he lived in a pack that kept to itself way out in the woods. They were wiped out, and he was the sole survivor.”

“Wiped out?” Simon asks curiously, trailing a finger over Lance’s stomach, making it quiver. SJ whimpers in his sleep, curled in a basket by their bed.

“By hunters, Merlin said. He didn’t want to talk about it. I tried to press…I told him I thought it was important, but he changed the subject.” Lance pulls Simon’s head down for a kiss, gasping into his mouth. “Stop teasing me.”

Simon smiles before slipping his tongue in to duel with Lance’s and climbing in between his mate’s legs, all thought of the book and Merlin and everything else slipping from his mind.

~~~

“Gods, Audrey, I said a rut, not …not _this_!” Sully points to the fresh mating bite on his neck. He paces up and down in front of her, but Audrey feels strangely calm watching him. She can still smell the tantalizing scent of cupcake, and frankly she wants more. She sighs. _Cupcakes are the best._

Sully stops pacing and looks at her. He’s pulled his trousers back on, but his chest is lean and hairless. “Why are you so calm?” he asks, voice squeaking at the end in a way Audrey finds adorable. “My curfew is in ten minutes! How am I supposed to go home now?!”

Audrey stands, brushing leaves and grass off her dress. “I’ll take you,” she replies. She runs her fingers through her light-brown hair. Sully just stares at her. A breeze carries his scent to her, his heat getting stronger.

“You’re going to have to be inside soon…no other alphas should be around you,” she tells him. “You’re mine now.”

Sully’s eyes grow big. They’re grey like storm clouds, Audrey thinks, leaning in and kissing him. When she pulls away, she reaches down and rubs at the large bulge in the front of Sully’s trousers. “This is mine. I’m your alpha. Understand?” She squeezes it lightly, feeling powerful before pressing her body to him, rubbing her scent all over his torso. She can feel him hardening. Sully nods, whining a little, the scent of cupcake filling the air around them. Audrey trembles. “Turn around.”

Sully does, and Audrey pushes him against the tree, making short work of unbuckling him and getting his arse naked and in her face. On her knees, she licks and nibbles her fill until Sully’s sobbing, arms clinging to the thin oak’s trunk, buttocks pushed back invitingly.

“Audrey!” Clyde’s voice brings Audrey out of her sex fog, and she leans back on her heels. “Gods, what the fuck are you doing? Sully?” Clyde sounds almost hysterical.

Audrey’s face drips with clear omega oestrum, and she has to wipe it on the hem of her dress. Clyde wants an explanation, that’s obvious, but first and foremost, her omega’s in heat and he needs her. Sully trembles and whimpers, dry-humping the rough bark of the tree. Audrey pushes two fingers inside of Sully’s arse and begins to pump as she turns to her brother.

“I’ve mated Sully,” she tells him as she swiftly brings her mate off.

“You WHAT?” Clyde looks at the scene before him with wide, incredulous eyes. “Why?”

Audrey pulls her hand away, and Sully sinks to his knees, arms still clinging tightly to the tree trunk.

“Sully, how could you?!” Clyde yells.

Audrey growls menacingly, eyes flashing yellow, and Clyde backs away.

“Dad is going to be so ticked off at you!” he turns and runs toward the house.

“Come on,” Audrey orders Sully. “Let’s go tell your parents.” She helps him to his feet.

~~~

Merlin jerks awake, first looking in the bassinet where the two babies sleep peacefully before turning to Arthur, whose blue eyes stare at him with alarm.

“What’s wrong?” Arthur asks.

“Bad dream,” Merlin croaks, shuddering and moving onto his side to face his mate.

Arthur reaches out to push the hair from Merlin’s eyes.

“I’m sorry. Come here.”

Merlin scoots closer to Arthur, who envelopes him in his arms and kisses his head. “I love you,” Arthur tells him.

“I love you, too, Arthur,” Merlin murmurs into Arthur’s warm, bare shoulder. He isn’t sure why, but he feels like crying. Maybe it’s because he does love Arthur so much, along with the life they’ve made together.

Or maybe it’s the fragments of the dream still lingering in his mind. Merlin remembers the day Arthur entered his apartment and his life. Merlin was so scared…an omega all alone in the city, but it wasn’t long before Arthur consumed his entire world.

Now Merlin can’t live without him, wouldn’t want to. And he’s had the dream again. One blue eye and one brown eye. He’s never met such a wolf, but Merlin knows that if he should, he must kill him, or risk losing Arthur forever.

~~~

“This is all your fault!” Leon tells Will, pointing his finger at him, and Will’s mouth falls open.

“My fault! How do you figure that?!”

After delivering the news, Clyde skulked to his bedroom and shut the door, leaving his fathers to deal with it. Will reels from the news that his daughter, usually so well-behaved, has gone and mated someone behind their backs. He can understand Leon being upset, but blaming _him_?

“You’ve always been wild,” Leon accuses, irate and ready to place the blame. “You’ve passed it on to her.” He begins to pace the length of their bedroom.

“Oh, no,” Will shakes his head. “I was overtly wild. _Clyde_ takes after me. Audrey takes after _you_! So quiet and calm on the outside, but on the _inside_? A volcano ready to go off!”

Leon swings around, eyes flashing.

“Oh, sure,” Will says sarcastically, “go on, prove me right, why don’t you?”

Curling up his fists, Leon presses his lips together and breathes in through his nose. He looks at his heavily pregnant mate, so obstinately luscious, and remembers the first time he saw him years ago at a bonfire, telling some beta three times his size what for; all Leon wanted to do from the moment he met him was shove his cock into that big, fucking mouth and shut him up. He still wants that sometimes.

“You’d best be quiet, Will,” Leon growls, temper rising.

“Or what?” Will pushes.

Leon walks over to him, anger and lust pulsing through his veins. This isn’t Will’s fault. Leon knows it, and Will knows it. They’re both frustrated and upset.

“On your knees.”

“Fuck. You.”

Leon’s hand darts out, and he takes Will by the hair, forcing him to obey.

“Take out my cock,” Leon tells him, “and put it in that big mouth of yours.”

Will’s eyes narrow, but he does it, of course. He can’t disobey his alpha when he gives a direct order, and Leon knows it. Leon can see the lust in Will’s veiled eyes; it sets Leon aflame. Yet, infuriatingly, Will begins sucking in a desultory manner.

Leon jerks at Will’s hair.

“Do it right!”

Will picks up the pace, making it wet and good, licking at the thick vein running up the underside of Leon’s long cock. Leon throws his head back, moaning. He feels Will let him go and then take Leon’s sac in his mouth, tongue traveling all around it. Leon’s legs tremble.

“That’s it…that’s what your fucking sarcastic gob was made for,” Leon breathes, feeling Will choke with laughter at his words. A smile spreads over Leon’s face.

The front door clicks shut, and both men freeze.

“Da? Dad?” Audrey’s voice.

“Be right there!” Leon calls. “Hurry up,” he whispers, and Will quickens the pace until Leon’s spurting stripes of cum all over Will’s face. Leon gives Will’s nose a tap with his cock.

“Love you,” he whispers, helping his mate to stand and kissing him sweetly before licking off the spunk. They share a heart-felt embrace, Leon burying his face in the warmth of Will's neck, before going to meet their daughter and her new mate.


	88. Magicals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the lack of an update yesterday. I really needed to concentrate on my coffee shop fic in the morning when my mind is freshest, and I was wiped out yesterday evening. Thanks, as usual, for all the great comments.  
> A couple of you have asked for background on both Leon/Will (Weon? Lol!) and Merthur. I may get to that soon, as it's something I think would be fun to explore.

Infinitely calmer than he would’ve been if Will hadn’t helped release some of his tension, Leon is able to look at Sully without ripping his face off.

“Audrey, explain,” Leon says through gritted teeth.

“Dad, he smells like cupcake!” Audrey tells him, eyes, so like Will’s, large with excitement. She clings to Sully, who’s sporting a mating bite that’s already healed over.

Leon doesn’t have to sniff the air to detect the boy’s heat. It doesn’t smell like cupcake, exactly, but it’s fresh, young, omega. Leon covers his nose. Beside him, Will narrows his eyes and takes a step closer to his mate so that their arms touch.

“We’ve already told Sully’s parents,” Audrey says boldly, standing a little straighter, and Leon suddenly sees his daughter with new eyes; she really has grown up in the past few months. She’s a young lady alpha, and she’s defending her territory. “I’ve mated him, and he’s mine. I’ll go to the Alpha tomorrow and ask for our own place, but for tonight…” her eyes roam to her bedroom door.

Sully whimpers, and Leon sees the wet running out the legs of his trousers. Sully’s looking at Audrey like she’s his life line and completely ignoring Leon, the more dominant alpha in the room. True, he’s mated, but only just. He hasn’t had time to grow accustomed to Audrey yet. Leon looks at Will, who seems to be thinking the same thing; could they be true mates?

Clyde’s door bangs open.

“Oh, _them,_ ” he says when he spots his sister and his best friend standing hand-in-hand in the living room. He sneers. “Now you’re gonna get it.”

“Go on to bed,” Leon says quietly, and Audrey and Sully run that way, practically knocking over Clyde to get there. No sooner does the bedroom door slam then the noise starts up. Will winces.

“I don’t believe this!” Clyde yells, face turning purple.

“Hold it down, young man!” Leon barks.  “Your brothers and sisters are asleep.” Fortunately, the little kids sleep like the dead, Leon thinks.

“ _Me_ , hold it down?” Clyde asks, incredulous. He shakes his head. “Unbelievable. She goes and mates without asking, and that’s perfectly okay, but I get yelled at for raising my voice.”

“It isn’t o’kay,” Will interjects, “Except I think they’re true mates, otherwise she would never have done it.”

“Oh, of course,” Clyde wrinkles up his face in derision. “Perfect Audrey, never in her life would she do anything wrong unless she absolutely had to!” He huffs, walks into his room, and slams the door.

Leon realizes he’s pulling at his hair and lets go of it. When he turns and sees Will’s shaking, he takes him by the hand and pulls him close, kissing him on the temple. “Shh, love, it’s all right. Everything’s going to be fine.”

Will trembles. It doesn’t help that the sounds coming from their daughter’s bedroom are filthy.

“Perhaps we should have sent them to the omega den,” Leon sighs. He rubs his hands over Will’s tense back, their unborn pups squeezed between them. “Let’s go to bed, eh?” He looks down at Will’s face and kisses his freckled nose. Will nods.

~~~

Lance watches Mithian spar with Jorge, landing a good punch to his ribs. “Where did she learn to do that?” he asks Earc.

“I taught her,” Earc replies, lacing his boots. “She asked me to. She took to it like a duck to water. She’s also quite good with the weapons.”

Lance nods, wincing as Mithian lands a good kick to Jorge’s nuts, bringing him to his knees. A beta, this must be what Mithian was born to do. She certainly seems in her element. He moves away, walking toward Gilli and Daegal’s. He’s often thought of the two men and their child care capabilities, and wondered how they fit into things. He’s so deep in thought, when he walks into the quiet house and finds it’s naptime, he walks straight into the master bedroom without knocking first.

“Oops,” Lance cringes when he sees Gilli kneeling before Daegal on the bed, Daegal’s leg propped on his mate’s chest as Gilli pushes in and out of him. “Sorry…” Lance backs toward the door. “I really didn’t mean to just walk in here like this.”

Daegal’s body trembles and his long cock releases onto his stomach. Gilli shudders.

“S’okay,” he replies seconds later, pulling out of his lover. Daegal rolls over, revealing a rather fetching bottom, Lance has to admit.

“What can we do for you, Lance? You don’t have SJ with you.”

“Um, no, I really just wanted to talk,” Lance answers.

A few minutes later, the three of them sit at the kitchen table with cups of steaming tea.

“I don’t think we have any special skills, do you Daegal?” Gilli asks his mate.

“You’re pretty good with your cock,” Daegal winks at him.

Gilli grins. “Seriously, we just like to take care of kids.”

“That may be it right there,” Lance tells them, stirring his tea. “Have you noticed anything with the children?”

“Just that the last batch seem to be maturing quickly,” Daegal says. “You know, the pups born around the time Clyde and Audrey were. They’re all coming into heat and rut at the age of eight and nine-years-old. The betas are doing things, too. Like Fara…she’s been doing all this crazy math. She wants to play with herbs and chemicals.”

“Chemicals?” Lance asks.

Gilli shrugs. “Like experiments in a lab. Doctor stuff.”

“You should let her,” Lance tells him. “She may be good at it. Take her to Gaius.”

Gilli and Daegal share a look, and Daegal shrugs.

“If Gaius doesn’t mind, I guess I don’t,” Gilli says.

“He won’t mind,” Lance promises. “Anyone else?”

“Tom likes to fight…he’s really quite good at it. He keeps trying to run away and do drills with the men,” Daegal says. “Same with Vince.”

“See if Arthur has a place for them,” Lance tells him. “There might be something they can do to help, being alphas. They’re both almost twelve and getting big.”

“What about Jib?” Daegal suddenly asks Gilli.

“Who’s Jib?”

“A little one from Declan’s old pack,” Gilli answers. “He’s an orphan. Cute little bugger.” Gilli shakes his head. “I dunno, I thought he was making it up.”

“What?” Lance asks.

“It’s not anything, really. Just he says he can turn invisible,” Gilli laughs. “You know kids. But the other day, during nap time just like this…” Gilli looks at Daegal, who continues.

“We were doing something similar to what you walked in on, but a little more vigorously, yeah? And suddenly we both heard noises in the corner-- of wrappers crinkling. I had some candy over there, and for a minute I thought we had mice. But when we looked, the pieces had all been unwrapped and eaten as though someone had been sitting there eating them one by one. It was very odd.”

Lance frowns. “Very odd indeed.” He’s never heard of anyone able to turn invisible before. What if it were really possible?

When he gets home, he tells Simon about it.

“Ever heard of a magical?” Simon asks.

Lance frowns. “Only in story books.”

“I’ve heard of them on my wanderings. You know, I’ve told you how I used to leave the ranch a lot to get away from Rex and his wandering hands…Mountain wolves talk of magicals a lot, and so do the elders.”

“Simon,” Lance laughs. “Magic isn’t real. That’s just old-wolf tales.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I’m pretty sure of it, though.” Lance puts his arms around Simon’s shoulders. “You’re such a romantic.” He kisses him. “And I love you for it.”

“A moment ago you were willing to believe that a little boy turned invisible!” Simon argues, pulling back a little.

“Hey! Don’t get angry,” Lance tugs Simon by the hand. “I didn’t believe it. I think there’s an explanation for it.”

“You think magic is any odder than what’s been going on around here?” Simon asks, mouth firm.

“Yeah, well…everything going on now is genetics,” Lance replies. Magic is the stuff of fairy tales.”

“And sometimes that ‘stuff’ stems from the truth!” Simon retorts, pulling his hand away.

“I can’t believe you’re getting angry about this,” Lance huffs on a laugh.

“And I can’t believe you’re laughing at me!” Simon almost shouts.

Lance shakes his head. “You’re going to wake the baby.”

Simon grunts, turns, and angrily walks out of the house, shutting the door with an exaggerated, soft click that sounds incredibly loud to Lance in the empty room.


	89. Father and Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Clyde have a father and son chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't keep my manuscripts once I post them, so I don't have the first one in this series. I could check it here, but I'm not sure what part to look in...in short, I hope I haven't goofed on something I've written before concerning Uther and the previous pack. I don't think I have, but let me know if you catch me in a flub.

Clyde lies in bed staring at the ceiling. For two days he’s listened to the almost constant rutting of his sister and Sully until, finally, this morning, they moved into their own place. Now it seems almost too quiet. He blinks back tears, angrily shoving them from his eyes.

Fact is, Clyde’s afraid. His body wants a mate, but his mind isn’t sure it does. He’s an omega, and he knows what that means—being bossed around. And Clyde doesn’t like being bossed.

And now he’s lost both his sister and his friend, and he’s alone. Balling his hands into fists, he lets out a groan, half anger, half despair. He hears the click of his bedroom door.

“Who’s there?” he whispers, voice clogged with tears.

“It’s me,” his father’s voice fills the room. It’s the middle of the fucking night. What’s he doing up? Probably raiding the fridge…all he wants to do is eat, now that he’s knocked up again. How he stands it, Clyde doesn’t know. And that’s another thing---thinking about being stuffed full of pups by some horny alpha is unthinkable. And then it isn’t. A part of Clyde really wants that.

He feels Will sit down on the bed beside him. Clyde’s glad for the darkness that hides the tear streaks on his face.

“I can’t sleep,” Will tells him. “And somehow I just figured you’d be up.”

“Dad’s snoring like a chainsaw, isn’t he?” Clyde guesses.

“Yeah,” Will laughs, and takes Clyde’s hand where it lies between them on the bed. Clyde almost jerks away. Almost. Instead he finds himself entwining his fingers with his father’s.

“It’s difficult being at the point you are now,” Will tells him quietly, “and I expected to talk to you about it someday, only not so soon.” He sighs. “Clyde, you’re so much like me, it scares me.”

This is new. “What do you mean?” he asks, interested.

“You’re just…curious and obstinate and just really full of life. You’re stubborn and you want to experience things, but you don’t think about it all first before diving into it head-long.”

That really does describe him pretty well, Clyde considers. “And that’s the way you are?” he asks. Now that he really thinks about it, his dad is always getting onto Da about stuff like that.

“Oh, definitely. And when your father met me, I was even worse.” Will moves a little on the mattress, getting comfortable. Clyde reaches back and hands him another pillow. Will gratefully places it between his knees, giving his large belly some support.

“Did Gran and Gramps get onto you about it?” Clyde has heard stories of his grandparents.

“No, they were dead by then,” Will replies sadly. Both his parents and his sister were killed in an attack by a challenging pack—the one that ultimately made Arthur Alpha when Uther was killed by the pack’s Alpha, and Arthur then killed him.

Will was left orphaned as a teen. He was taken into the omega den as one of the very few omegas in existence at the time, a definite prize, and not yet in heat. It felt like a prison to the young man.

“I kept escaping,” he tells Clyde.

“What about Dad? Where was he, and what was he like?”

When he answers, Clyde can hear the smile in his father’s voice.

“He was always calm and collected. I often saw him reading a book or talking quietly with someone.”

“Did you fancy him?” Clyde can’t believe he’s asking this, but the darkness makes it easier. Somehow, he can really imagine all this---of course, it’s a lot easier since his parents are true mates and therefore haven’t aged physically since the day they mated.

“I told myself I didn’t,” Will replies. “I told myself I thought he was ridiculous and boring. But…” Will’s voice gets soft, and Clyde finds himself leaning closer to hear. “I sometimes found myself staring at those ginger-colored curls,” Will’s fingers begin stroking Clyde’s hair, and suddenly Clyde feels quite proud that he has hair like his father’s.

“When was the first time he spoke to you?” Clyde asks quietly, not wanting to break the spell that seems to have come over his da.

“I think…I think it was soon after my parents and sister had been killed. He asked me how I was doing. But I’d caught him staring at me many times before then. I wasn’t very pleasant with him. I didn’t want to mate anyone, you see. That would mean giving up my independence, yeah?”

Clyde lets out a breath. He definitely understands. “When did you know you were true mates?” he asks after a moment.

“Well, not until we came across one another when I was in heat. That’s really the only way to know…Leon had to scent me, the way your sister scented Sully. When that happens, there’s just no stopping things. That’s why we couldn’t punish Audrey for what she did, Clyde. It’s natural and inevitable. Audrey didn’t understand it herself.”

Clyde knows this is true. But he’s still angry.

“I really want to mate, Da,” Clyde says, almost on a whine, “but I don’t want someone ordering me about.”

“If it’s the right person, there will be equality there,” Will tells him firmly. “I submit to your father, but I want to, and he doesn’t take advantage of it. He also invited me to bite him, which gives me some power over him as well. There is true love in our relationship. What I want for you is to find your true mate, if that’s possible. That’s why I don’t want some alpha mating you just because he or she comes across you when you’re in heat and they are horny.”

“But how will I know if my true mate is here if I’m not out when in heat?” Clyde asks urgently.

Will sighs. “The only way is for us to take you out during those times, but you will have to stick close to us and abide by our rules, Clyde. Anything else leads to disaster in your future. You have to believe me.”

Clyde thinks about this. He doesn’t want to be mated to someone who he has to submit to but doesn’t love. “All right.” They lie in silence for a while.

“Da? What was it like when you and Dad first rutted? And had you been with anyone before?”

There’s silence for such a long time, Clyde thinks that his father either fell asleep or isn’t going to answer him. Finally, Will replies.

“He wasn’t my first. Like you, I was far too headstrong to wait.”

Clyde feels himself blushing with what might be shame.

“As soon as I went into heat, I wanted to experience sex, which was dangerous. If I’d gotten with pups, I’d have had to have been mated. As it was, I was lucky the wolves I was with didn’t bite me out of instinct alone, although I had the sense to choose wisely there…I just wanted to experience what it was like, and the few men I chose to be with were very careful. They didn’t want mates for their own reasons.”

Clyde gets the feeling there is something here that his father is not telling. “Who were they?” he ventures to ask. “Men I know?”

Will laughs. “Of course not,” he says, but Clyde knows he’s lying. Of course these men would still be in the pack. He quickly runs his mind through possibilities, but Will continues talking.

“Fortunately, your father soon got a whiff of my scent and began pursuing me ruthlessly, finally pinning me down, so to speak.”

“You’re leaving more out,” Clyde complains.

“I’m not going to share all my sexual exploits and romantic adventures with my son,” Will teases, easing up on the bed so that he’s propped against the headboard.

“And the first rut? The mating?” Clyde pushes. “I deserve to know what to expect if I’m to wait for my true mate,” he points out.

“You are impossible,” Will gives Clyde’s shoulder a light shove in the darkness. “It was wonderful, okay? Much, much, MUCH better than those other men. Incomparable, I promise you.”

“But, _how_?” Clyde asks. “I just don’t see how.”

Will sighs. “First of all, your father smells like no other wolf I know, and the moment I really got near him when he was in rut, I knew; I just _knew_ , Clyde. Gods, I wanted him.” He clears his throat. “Yeah, well. So he felt similarly, and from there…well, you and Audrey came into being.” He slides his legs off the bed. “Now go to sleep.”

“Da!” Clyde moans. “I want to hear more about it.”

“I’m uncomfortable... these pups are scrambling around inside me. I’ve said enough for now.” Clyde feels his father leaning down, searching him out, and Clyde moves forward a bit to make it easier on him. His da’s lips brush Clyde’s head.

“Goodnight, Clyde. I love you.”

“Love you, too, Da.” Clyde rolls over and finds it surprisingly easy to go to sleep.

Will shuts Clyde’s door and crosses the hall into the master bedroom where Leon lies snoring, the light from the moon shining through the window upon his face. Will smiles, remembering what a ponce he thought Leon was at first.

Unable to sleep just yet, Will sits down in the large, stuffed chair near the window and looks out, thinking back to years ago.


	90. Leon Puts His Foot in It

_Will often sits on the hill looking over the pack, watching the alphas do the drills that Arthur’s insisted upon ever since the attack. Their naked bodies, soaked in sweat, gleam in the mid-morning sunlight._

_Will could be, and probably should be, doing his chores in the omega den, but he’s bored and lonely, and—if he’d admit it to himself—sad. He misses his parents and sister._

_So he focuses his thoughts on his urges, and watches the lean bodies before him. There’s Arthur, the new Alpha, stocky and blond, stuck up and prattish with those blue eyes that could bring a man to his knees; and Gwaine, whose brown eyes are soulful and sincere, with long hair and a wicked grin; and Cenred, rather a bully, but sexy all the same with his unreadable gaze and sultry lips; and then there’s Leon. Will isn’t sure what to make of Leon. The ginger curls, and frank, hazel eyes. The quick, boyish grin, studious mind, and hot stare that Will’s caught directed his way a time or two._

_Will gazes at the lean lines of Leon’s form, wondering what it would be like to feel them over his body…_

 

“What are you doing up?” Leon’s voice jerks Will out of his reverie.

“I’ve been talking to Clyde,” Will tells him. “Sorry, did I wake you?”

Leon yawns and stretches, then pats the bed beside him. “Come here.”

Will gets up from the chair with some difficulty and moves to the bed, lowering himself to lie beside his mate. Leon presses his lips to Will’s forehead, and Will feels them moving over his skin as he asks, “Clyde okay?”

Will nods. “Just confused. He asked a lot of questions about mating and rutting and us when we were younger—how we met.” Will feels Leon smile against his skin.

“Did you tell him you hated me?”

“I didn’t hate you,” Will laughs.

“Yeah, you did.”

“I thought you were a plonker,” Will corrects. “Totally different. And then you started ordering me about.”

“I thought you needed guidance,” Leon tells Will, rubbing his back, hands settling over Will’s round rump, covered by thin pyjama pants. Will yawns, moving in closer, his unborn litter shifting inside him, pressing on vital organs in a decidedly uncomfortable manner.

“I didn’t,” he insists. “I was doing just fine.”

Leon laughs and pulls back to look at Will's face. “I can’t believe you said that! It was only a matter of time before you got yourself bitten. You were letting every alpha within sniffing range have a go at you.”

Will stiffens and pulls back, staring up at Leon. “Is that what you think?”

Leon stares down at him, eyes unreadable in the half-light from the window. “No. I’m sorry. I know that’s not true.”

But the words are out, and Will suspects there must be some truth in them, or Leon, who always weighs his words carefully, would never have said them. Will moves away.

“I told you after what happened with Uallus that I never wanted Uallus to kiss me—you know why that is? Because you’re the only man who ever has!”

“Will…” Leon reaches out for him in the darkness, but Will jerks back.

“Sure, I was with a few alphas. I experimented, but they meant nothing to me, and I was careful. And it wasn’t many, and I bet you don’t even know who they were!” Will’s upset now, dashing away tears of anger and hurt from his eyes. Leon sits up in the bed, holding out his arms to Will.

“Shh, shh, pet, I know, I’m sorry for what I said.”

Will grits his teeth. “You don’t know! You said that because you believe it! You believe I was a slut.” He’s shaking now, more upset than he means to be, but this is _Leon_ , and he should know better, and how long has he thought these things, really? Leon, who’s been Will’s everything for so long.

Will turns, and storms out of the room, straight out of the house.

Leon follows, watching Will warily.

“Quit following me, arse,” Will says, head down, walking as fast as he can in his condition.

“Of course I’m going to follow you; I can’t let you wander around alone at night, huge like you are,” Leon tells him, striding easily at his side.

His words are fuel to the fire, but Will doesn’t say anything. It takes him fifteen minutes to walk to Merlin’s.

“Will, don’t air our dirty linen to the Alpha,” Leon sighs. Will wants to kick him.

“Don’t talk to me,” he sobs instead, and the fact that his hormones won’t allow him to be properly angry makes him furious, and he cries harder. “If I.. can’t go to.. my best friend, who.. can I go to?”

He rounds the house and shouts at Merlin’s open window. Presently, Merlin peers out.

“Will?”

“I’m going to the omega den,” Will blubbers pathetically, swiping at his face with his arm.  “Leon’s… a hateful plonker.” He begins to cry again.

“Will,” Leon says miserably, shaking his head dolefully.

Arthur joins Merlin at the window. “Leon, what have you done?” He looks amused.

“Shut it, Arthur,” Leon warns.

“I’ll be right there,” Merlin tells Will and disappears from sight.

When Merlin and Arthur reach the yard, Will is sobbing against a tree, and Leon seems at a loss as to what to do.

“What happened?” Merlin asks, taking Will into his arms.

“Leon called me a slut!” Will moans, and Merlin looks at Leon, startled.

Arthur raises a brow.

“I didn’t,” Leon defends, hands in the air.

“You did!” Will’s face is red and wet peeking out from Merlin’s shoulder. “Obviously he only mated me because he thought I was fucking the entire pack,” he chokes out.

Merlin smooths back Will’s hair. “That doesn’t even make sense,” he teases.

Will’s crying becomes hysterical.

“Shh, come inside; it’s chilly out here,” Merlin tells his friend, pulling him toward the house.

Arthur looks at Leon. “Brandy?”

Leon nods, and they head for the basement.

“Did you really call him a slut?” Arthur asks when they have their drinks.

“Of course not! He’s pregnant and out of his head,” Leon replies.

“Well, what did you say?”

Leon looks into his glass, swirling the liquid about. “Only that he might have gone through the whole pack if I hadn’t mated him…or something.”

“Jesus, Leon,” Arthur mutters.

“Well, I didn’t mean it quite like that, and I apologized!”

“So, is that what you really think?” Arthur asks, tilting his head. “Because, I admit, Will seemed a bit wild, but he wasn’t working his way through the pack; I can testify to that.”

Leon’s eyes narrow, thoughts forming behind them, and he sets his glass on the table. “And just exactly what would you know about it, Arthur?”


	91. Drama

Will becomes increasingly upset, no matter what Merlin tries to do. He brings him an array of food, including ice cream, but Will won’t touch any of it, preferring to hide under the wet cloth Merlin gave him to wash his tear-stained face.

“Will, I’m your best mate. You can talk to me, even if you can’t talk to Leon,” Merlin tells Will softly. This brings a fresh torrent from Will.

“You don’t understand,” he sobs. “Leon’s all I have.”

Merlin pats Will’s knee. “Shh, nonsense, you have me, and the children, too.”

Will sniffles, wiping his face with the cloth. “When my family died, I didn’t have anyone for so long. I was on my own. Leon watched out for me, even when I didn’t know it. Now I find out he was judging me!”

Merlin smiles gently. “Having a bit of fun when you’re young isn’t a crime, Will. He’s only jealous.”

Will’s lips tremble, and he looks away. “You’d judge too, if you knew.”

“I do know, Will,” Merlin tells him, scooting closer to him on the guest bed. Will’s eyes jerk back to Merlin’s, fearful…wary.

“What?”

“I know that you gave Arthur a few blow jobs when you were younger. Arthur told me after what happened with Ros in the omega den. I think he confessed every sexual moment he ever had in his life that night, although I told him I’d rather not know.” Merlin smiles wryly. “Sure, it’s a bit weird, but if you think it’s going to make me love you any less, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

Merlin watches as Will’s eyes fill yet again and his face screws up, shoulders shaking. Merlin pulls him into his arms. For such a tough guy, Will is really quite the softie, Merlin muses, rubbing his friend’s back fondly.

“When I first came to the pack, I was so nervous,” Merlin remembers, kissing Will’s head. “You befriended me instantly, without a thought. Do you really think I’d hold it against you because you gagged on Arthur’s big one a million years ago when he didn’t even know me?”

Will laughs hoarsely into Merlin’s shirt, and Merlin smiles, hugging him close.

A roar from a couple of floors below brings both men to attention.

“Somehow, I don’t think Leon’s quite as understanding as you are,” Will tells Merlin, meeting his eyes.

They make their way down the hall to the stairs. Merlin moves ahead, leaving Will to take his time. Collum and Sigmund are staring down the basement stairs where all the noise is coming from.

“Are they fighting?” Merlin asks, concerned.

“Arthur’s managing to hold him off,” Collum replies. “He has Leon’s arm twisted behind his back.”

“I hope he breaks it,” Will mutters, finally reaching the bottom of the stairs. He leans against the wall, catching his breath.

“You don’t mean that.” Merlin rolls his eyes.

The next moment, Arthur marches Leon up the stairs.

“You’re going to have to go home until you cool off, Leon,” Arthur says.

“Bollocks that!” Leon shouts. “I’m not leaving my mate here with the likes of you!”

Will stares daggers at him. When Leon meets his mate’s gaze he stops short, almost toppling Arthur down the steps.

“Will.”

Will purses his lips belligerently, clenching his fists at his sides. “So I suppose you heard about some of my slutty behavior first hand, did you? Did Arthur tell you how I begged for it? Lined his men up for me, he did. One right after another.”

Leon’s face goes white, and behind him, Arthur rolls his eyes.

Sigmund and Collum share confused looks, and Merlin bites his lip, imagining what they might be thinking. Had Will interrupted drills earlier in the day in his heavily pregnant state, offering himself to the infantry line? The picture is so ludicrous; Merlin breaks into peals of laughter, eventually doubling over with mirth. Arthur soon follows, letting go of Leon so he can grip his own stomach.

“Well, I’m glad you two think this is funny,” Leon says hotly. “Will, let’s go home.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Will tells him, turning around and heading back up the stairs. Leon starts after him, but Arthur pulls him back.

“Give him some time, Leon.”

Leon points a finger in Arthur’s face. “Don’t you speak to me!”

“You’re being ridiculous,” Arthur tells him. “I tried to explain that everything that happened back then was all harmless teenage experimentation, and you’re being a bore.”

Leon looks insulted. “What did you call me? A _bore_?”

Merlin can’t stop laughing, it’s all so ridiculous. Arthur gives him a look, and Merlin turns and heads upstairs where Will’s crying on the guest bed. Merlin immediately sobers.

“Can I get you anything? You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like, Will.”

“I’m fine,” Will answers wetly into the pillow. “Thanks, Merlin.”

Merlin nods and softly shuts the door. He hears the front door close rather loudly and meets Arthur at the top of the stairs.

Arthur reaches out, pulling Merlin into his arms, body warm and inviting. Merlin sinks into him, opening his lips to the deep kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around Arthur’s slim waist. When they part, he says, “I need to nurse Michael and Matthew.” The babies have recently figured out how to change into their pup form, and Merlin’s glad of it; he hates bottles.

“Okay,” Arthur kisses Merlin’s cheek. “I’m going to shower. How’s Will?” Merlin can feel Arthur’s budding erection against his leg, and he pushes teasingly against it.

“Miserable. You can talk to him if you want to. I won’t go into a jealous rage.” Merlin tweaks Arthur’s nose, and Arthur moves his thigh between Merlin’s legs, prodding, making him hard.

“I’d better not. I don’t want my scent anywhere near him—it will just stoke the fire where Leon’s concerned,” Arthur replies, breath hitching. “Leon could have handled all this a whole lot better. I don’t think he realizes just how sensitive Will is about that time in his life.” Arthur kisses Merlin’s neck, and Merlin fervently wishes the pups didn’t need to be fed right then.

Merlin pulls Arthur in for another kiss. “He isn’t like you,” Merlin says. “Hurry up in the shower. When I’m finished with the pups, I want you to fuck me senseless.” He leans in closer to Arthur. "And maybe vice versa."

Arthur smiles. “It’s a date.” He reaches down and gives Merlin’s hard dick a playful squeeze through his trousers that just about sends Merlin through the roof. Merlin watches Arthur walk to the bathroom, admiring his arse and thinking perhaps he’ll convince Arthur to let him plunder it.

As he passes the guest room, Merlin thinks he’ll have a talk with Will the next day. He’d like to hear the full story of how he met Leon.


	92. Fever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I couldn't get this posted this morning. I am so upset; everyone who has read my Reel_Merlin up to this point has read the unchanged version. I didn't realize I'd posted the wrong one! I could cry.

  
“It just seems to me that Leon doesn’t know me at all,” Will mourns the following day as he helps Merlin get the children dressed. “I mean, all this time, and he really thought I was fucking every Tom, Dick, and Alpha in the pack when he mated me? Like he actually _saved_ me from something?” Will makes a face. “The wanker.”

Merlin laughs, slipping the sleeves of a red jumper onto Artie’s arms.

“I hate jumpers,” Artie complains, pouting.

“Me, too,” Em agrees. “Jumpers are _wankers_.”

Will and Merlin share a look. _Uh, oh._

“Off you go,” Merlin tells them. “Play in the yard, but don’t go anywhere else. Scoot.” He pats them on their bottoms before turning to Will. “No use telling them not to say it, they’ll only say it more.”

“Sorry,” Will lowers himself into a chair and watches Merlin put away nappies.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure you realize that Arthur and I let bad words slip all the time.” Merlin grins. “Tell me about when you and Leon mated while I straighten up. I’ve always been curious.”

Will scowls. “I don’t want to talk about him.”

“Come on,” Merlin encourages. “I want to know what a plonker he was back then. Did he walk around with a book in his face?”

“Practically,” Will sniffs. He seems to suddenly think of something and shifts in his seat, leaning forward, eyes eager. “Anyway, there’s something I really want to ask you.”

“What?” Merlin glances over as he closes the drawer.

“Does Arthur let you fuck him?”

Merlin wasn’t expecting that, and almost smashes his finger. He knows his face probably gives him away. “What?” he chuckles nervously. “Why do you ask that?”

“Because I heard you, that’s why. Come on, you can tell me. I couldn’t believe it…an alpha— _the Alpha_! And he lets you bang him? Oh gods! What does it feel like? You must really stretch him out good…”

“Erm…”

“Merlin!” Mordred’s cry from the stairs brings both Merlin’s and Will’s heads around, and Merlin’s so alarmed at the tone of Mordred’s voice, he loses all relief at being saved from Will’s interrogation.

“What is it?” Merlin asks, meeting Mordred in the hallway. Mordred’s eyes are wide and his face pale.

“Several people have it. The wolf fever…Pete. Allison. Donald’s parents. Gaius has them all in quarantine.” Mordred leans against the wall, breathing hard.

“Oh, gods…” Will whispers from the nursery doorway.

Merlin rushes to the window of the back room and yells to Collum to bring the children inside and have them play in the basement.

“Does Arthur know?”

“I’m sure he does,” Mordred replies. “Cenred came and told me. I left the children with my neighbor, Polly. I need to get back.”

“Thanks for telling me. I’m sure Arthur will be too occupied to come home for lunch, although he’ll probably send someone soon.” Merlin walks Mordred to the front door.

As though summoned, one of the betas shows up just as they open it to tell Merlin that they are to stay indoors upon the Alpha’s orders due to wolf fever.

“Gods, my babies…” Will bites his nails, coming up behind them. “Can we send someone for George to bring my children to the omega den? I’ll go there.”

Merlin looks at Will. “You don’t want to be with Leon?”

“I’m not speaking to him,” Will reminds Merlin.

“Wow, I’ve clearly missed something,” Mordred says, shaking his head. “But I have to get back. I’ll send someone with the message, Will.”

“Thanks, Mordy,” Will gives him a small smile.

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit stubborn?” Merlin asks. “I mean, at a time like this?”

“Merlin, this isn’t a game!” Will rubs at his back and finds a chair. “Leon really hurt me. It’s like he isn’t the person I thought he was.”

Merlin sits down opposite. “I’m not sure he even meant what he said, Will. I honestly don’t think Leon imagined you were fucking everybody.”

Will shakes his head. “I couldn’t sleep last night. Between being upset and listening to you fucking Arthur…”

Merlin grabs Will’s wrist. “Don’t ever say that out loud! Arthur would die!”

Will laughs. “Okay, okay. But honestly, you two are _loud_! And I couldn’t sleep. Arthur kept begging for more, and you kept giving it to him, and I wished the two of you would just go to sleep already, so I plugged up my ears and just started thinking back. And I remembered how Leon used to come into the alpha den…they had one for a while. It was a throw-back from Uther’s days, and Arthur finally got rid of it at some point. He was never as wild as Uther, who had his fair share of orgies there.  Anyway, I used to hang out there sometimes--Gwaine would invite me. I guess he felt a bit sorry for the orphan. I never went when in heat, but I probably got a bit of a rep being there at all.” Will looks away. “That’s when I did a few things, but obviously Leon thought I was doing a hell of a lot more. He didn’t go there often, but he must have heard rumours. Looking back, I guess I did look a bit like the alpha whore.”

“Who did you do it with?’ Merlin asks, and Will looks down at his hands.

“I probably gave everybody head,” he admits. “ But the only one I let rut me was Agravaine.”

Merlin’s eyes get wide. “You let Agravaine rut you?”

Will nods. “Believe it or not, he was kind of sexy back then. A loner, and I guess I fancied myself a bit of a seducer. And I knew he wouldn’t bite me. Besides, I was careful not to get around him when in heat.”

“He probably told people,” Merlin says. “And Leon heard about it.”

Will rolls his eyes. “They all probably talked. Except for Arthur. I really don’t think he told anyone.” Will looks at Merlin. “I only sucked him off once, Merlin. I swear it.”

“I know,” Merlin says. “It’s okay. It’s not like I was a virgin when I got with Arthur--well, I was, but I'd done other stuff, although as a wolf in the city I had to be even more careful. There were other omegas and we'd meet and get each other off."

“That’s right…you never talk much about your life in the city,” Will says. “Or before that. What about your home pack?”

“I don’t like to talk about it,” Merlin says, feeling himself shut down. He’s been dreaming more and more about that time in his life, and the dreams have been blending in with those of the blood and the armies until Merlin isn’t sure what’s memory and what’s prophecy. He asked Lance about it recently, and Lance wondered if perhaps it had been Merlin who had passed his dream to Lance that time in the omega den rather than the other way around.

Will watches Merlin for long moments.

“Will,” Merlin finally says, bringing the conversation back around to his friend, “do you think maybe you’re being a bit unfair to Leon? I mean, maybe he heard all those stories and just doesn’t know the truth.”

“He should know me by now,” Will tells Merlin emphatically.

George appears at the front door with Vick, John, Asher, and Higgy in tow. Asher and Vick immediately run to Will, clinging to his legs.

“Clyde’s with his father,” George tells Will.

Will nods and gets up. “Come on, kids. We’ll go to the omega den.”

“No need for that, Will,” Merlin says. “We have plenty of room here. You know the kids will want to play.”

“I don’t want to be a bother,” Will objects, patting Higgy’s head.

“You’re not,” Merlin replies. “George, you take the room at the end of the hall. Put the kids’ things in the nursery. The children are playing downstairs.”

At that moment, Hunith appears at the top of the steps from the basement. “Higgy! Vick, Johnny…Asher! Come play!” she calls. Higdeth runs that way, then turns and waits for her brothers to catch up. They clomp down the stairs, hands on the railing.

“I bet Donald is worried sick about his parents,” Will says after George heads for the back bedroom.

“Yeah,” Merlin agrees. “He must be. Lance and Sigmund will lay hands on them…and they’ve been working with other betas, showing them how. I know Sid’s had some success with it.”

Will nods, yawning.

“Take a nap,” Merlin tells his friend. Will needs no further prompting and heads upstairs.


	93. Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In a hurry...I hope this isn't full of errors.
> 
> I changed that line in the last chapter to make it clearer...Merlin is a virgin, but he's done other things with other omegas before meeting Arthur. 
> 
> Have a good day!
> 
> <3 You all are sweet as pie.

Merlin stays up late waiting for Arthur to come home. When he finally hears footsteps downstairs, he rushes to the kitchen only to find Gwaine there.

“Gwaine?” he asks, suddenly terrified.

“Don’t worry,” Gwaine grabs Merlin’s arm as Merlin’s knees buckle from under him. “He’s all right. But he’s been exposed, and he wouldn’t come home.”

“What? Exposed to the fever?” Merlin’s stomach clenches painfully. “Where is he?”

“He’s staying in the barn. We’ve set up some cots there. Several men were exposed to a family who came down with the fever hours later.” Gwaine shakes his head. “It’s getting bad, and Lance doesn’t have that many betas with the healing power. Those that they’ve laid hands on aren’t worsening, but it’s taking a long time. I think Allison will recover, but the other three are older…I’m not sure Donald’s parents will make it no matter what we do.”

Merlin realizes he’s wringing his hands and flattens them on the kitchen table. “Would you like some tea?”

Gwaine shakes his head. “A piece of this bread would be nice.” He holds the loaf up for permission, and Merlin nods his head.

“Of course. It’s delicious…Will made it this afternoon.”

“I heard he’s here,” Gwaine comments, cutting a slice. “Isn’t he being a bit hysterical?”

“Shh!” Merlin looks over his shoulder, half expecting Will to be there. “Yes and no. Leon was being a real jerk, but Will’s carrying it too far. However, having been pregnant, I know how the hormones are. He’s not really himself, so cut him some slack.”

“Hey,” Gwaine raises his hands, mouth full of bread, “I’m not judging. Anyway, Leon's crazy about Will. You should have seen him back when he had the cow eyes for Will.”

Merlin grins. “Cow eyes? Really?”

Gwaine takes a seat across from Merlin. “Oh, yeah. He really liked him; it was obvious. But Leon was quiet and wasn’t about to say anything. He just watched. Will was a bit the horny bugger back then...I think he really just wanted to hide from all the turbulent feelings he had, losing his family and all.”

“So when did Leon make his move?” Merlin asks, curious.

“I don’t rightly know. Will was around one moment and then suddenly he was Leon’s, as quick as that. And once he was Leon’s, there was no turning back. Those two were meant to be together.” Gwaine wipes his hands on his trousers and stands. “I”ve got to get home. I just came to tell you where Arthur is, and that he says he’s sorry. Oh, and that he misses you. He’d have me kiss you for him if he wasn’t such a jealous bastard.” Gwaine grins.

“Thanks, Gwaine.”

Merlin watches him go, upset. He misses Arthur and he’s worried. What if he gets the wolf fever? Slowly, he climbs the stairs, feeling out of sorts. Merlin realizes his heat’s coming on and curses, wondering if Arthur will sense it and be uncomfortable. He rubs at his mating bite.

Will appears at the door of the guest room. “What’s wrong? Did I hear Gwaine’s voice?”

Merlin can feel oestrum beginning to leak down his legs. He motions for Will to follow him into the bedroom, where he steps out of his trousers and looks for some lighter sleep pants. He tells him what Gwaine relayed to him about Arthur.

“Shit, that sucks,” Will sighs. “I’m sorry, Merlin, especially since you are obviously in heat,” he wrinkles his nose at the amount of lubricant oozing out of Merlin. “Gods…” he wiggles. “You’re going to set mine off.”

Merlin can’t help but laugh. “That’s all we need.”

Will grins. “How about an omega jerk off between friends?”

“Brilliant!” Merlin climbs on the bed, watching Will shed his clothes. “Gods, Will, you’re huge—I mean your belly, you arse,” he says when he sees Will’s smirk. “Get in front of me, yeah, like that. Merlin snuggles up behind Will, slipping his cock between Will’s legs, getting it nice and slick on the oestrum beginning to leak out there. Reaching back, he gathers some of his own on his hand and uses it to slick up Will’s fat cock.

“Mmm…fuck, yeah,” Will murmurs, head on the pillow. Merlin closes his eyes and pulls, pushing his cock in and out of the space between Will’s legs as he does so.

“You don’t mind if I think of Arthur while I do this, do you?” he asks, breath hitching.

“’Course not…”Will replies, thrusting into Merlin’s hand. “I’m thinking of Leon, but don’t tell him that.”

They grunt and groan, and Merlin finds he really enjoys the feel of Will’s plump arse pushing back against him. It isn’t long before he comes with a long moan, and then Will follows, clear cum spurting over Merlin’s hand.

Merlin begins to giggle into Will's shoulder.

"What?" Will asks, breathing hard.

"Agravaine..." Merlin giggles.

"Oh, shut it," Will reaches back and smacks Merlin on the bum.

“Fuck, I miss Leon,” Will sighs, grabbing some tissues from the table and cleaning off Merlin’s fingers. Merlin takes some and helps to mop up between Will’s legs.

“You should make up with him, Will,” Merlin tells him. “He was only jealous. He probably thinks you and Agravaine were an item. You know Leon’s not very confident.”

Will stares at the ceiling. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

Merlin takes that as a good sign and settles down. “Sleep here,” he says. “I’m lonely.”

“Okay,” Will agrees, and listens as Merlin’s breathing evens out. Will’s glad he has his friend, because he hasn’t felt this lonely in a long time.

He thinks back to one night in particular when it seemed nothing could ever make him feel loved.

_Sometimes Will thinks of running away from the pack—going off where no one knows him or his story. No one could call him an orphan. If he wasn’t in heat at the moment, he thinks he’d really do it this time. Being in heat is the only thing that keeps him in the omega den this night. Otherwise, he’d seek out the alpha den and Agravaine, because Will needs a cock up his arse right about now. Not just because he’s horny as fuck, but because he wants to be filled. He wants to know he’s alive and counts for something. He wants to feel the burn._

_Once Will figured out that having a cock up his arse is infinitely more satisfying than having one stuffed in his mouth, he’s spent most of his time with Agravaine—who’s willing to fuck but not mate, although Will’s shared a few hand jobs with other alphas.  He’s not the only omega to do so, but he does it the most frequently. What the fuck else has he got to do?_

_Will stares out the window. It’s hot as hell out…the spring is just around the corner, beckoning him like a siren. Will knows that there are beta guards near the entrance, but he knows them and can probably talk his way out of the den if he tries. He goes to see who it is._

_Barry. Easy._

_“Hiya, Barry,” Will greets the big, dumb man._

_“What are you doing, Will? Why aren’t you asleep like the others?”_

_“It’s too hot,” Will says. “I just want a little swim. I’m going to the river.”_

_“I can’t let you out,” Barry tells him. “You know that, Will! Too dangerous for omegas.”_

_“Aw, no one’s around, Barry!” Will wheedles. “and no one’s at the spring back there. Come on! I just want a quick dip.” He gives Barry a coy look. “I’ll make it worth your while.”_

_“What do you mean?” Barry asks, interested in spite of himself. Barry is kind of homely and doesn’t see much action._

_Will falls to his knees._

_“Fuck, Will…gods..oh, shit! Yeah, like that!” Barry comes embarrassingly fast, and Will spits his seed on the ground before heading around back to the river._

_The water looks incredibly inviting, and Will makes short work of getting out of his clothes. He rubs his hands over his lean body, stretching in the moonlight, giving his half-hard cock a few pulls before diving into the deep water and swimming to the other side. When he emerges, Will pulls himself up on a rock and lies flat on it, breathing hard as he looks up at the quarter moon in the sky. A cool wind dries the water from his body, and Will feels a surge of heat wash over him._

_He hears a low growl._

_Fear mixed with something else seizes Will’s loins, and he slowly sits up._

_“Who’s there?” he asks, looking around at the tree line._

_When Leon, the tall, quiet, scholarly alpha steps out from behind some mock-orange bushes, Will couldn’t be more surprised. He normally wouldn’t be afraid of Leon, except the look in the alpha’s eyes is predatory._

_“Leon?” Will says, then remembers he’s in heat. “Oh, fuck. Um…let me…just let me…” he stands. He’s out on a rock, and Leon is on the bank. Will gets in the water and begins swimming for the other bank, away from where Leon’s standing. Of course, when he gets there, Leon’s there, too. A sudden breeze brings a whiff of something delectable to Will’s nostrils, and he stills in the process of standing._

_Leon crouches before him, eyes boring into Will’s. Will focuses on the ginger curls framing Leon’s face and then the tongue licking the sweet lips._

_“I’m going to fuck you, mate you, and then you’ll be mine,” Leon tells Will quietly, and Will doesn’t know why, but he accepts it._

_What he says, however, is, “Fuck that,” and starts to move away._

_Leon growls and grabs Will by the arm. He pins him to the ground, hovering over him, the moon just behind his head as Will stares up into Leon’s face._

_Their first kiss—Will’s first kiss ever—is harsh and invading. Leon’s tongue makes a sweep through Will’s mouth, exploring every crevice of it, making Will instantly hard, his cock throbbing embarrassingly against Leon’s leg._

_“Get off me,” Will says, moving his head, wanting more. To Will’s surprise and disappointment, Leon lets go._

_Leon stands and begins stripping. Will stares, too shocked and turned-on to move. His eyes end up fixated on the ginger curls around Leon’s cock. He licks his lips and Leon’s cock jerks in reaction._

_Leon kneels again, taking Will’s face between his hands, and this kiss is more leisurely, forcing the blood through Will’s veins at a terrific speed. Leon sucks on Will’s lips and tongue until Will’s whimpering._

_“Let me go,” Will says faintly. “or I’ll punch your lights out.”_

_Leon dares to laugh at that, and Will balls up his fists, rearing back and letting one fly. Leon manages to block it before pinning Will’s arms over his head with a deep growl and covering his neck and chest with sucking kisses that both burn and arouse. When he reaches Will’s nipples, Will arches off the ground, crying out. A stream of oestrum shoots out of him, and Leon sniffs the air. Nuzzling excitedly down Will’s body, Leon sucks and licks between Will’s legs, forcing them upward until he can get to the source of the fragrant juices. Will sucks in a breath when he feels Leon’s beard against his sensitive skin and then Leon’s tongue on his hole, licking enthusiastically. Will calls out, muscles trembling in reaction. Leon pushes Will over onto his stomach and spreads Will’s cheeks, lapping at him eagerly, forcing his tongue inside over and over again, wiggling it until Will is sobbing._

_Will grabs handfuls of grass, mouth dropping open. He’s never felt such sensations before…_

_Leon runs a hand over Will's arse. "I've wanted this beauty for a long time," he says reverently before pulling Will to his knees and kissing Will's hole as though it were his mouth._

_“Now I’m going to fuck you,” Leon finally says when Will is limp and breathing hard._

_“Go to hell,” Will rasps, hole quivering in anticipation. Leon’s scent drives him mad; he’s never wanted anyone so badly._

_Leon pulls Will's legs back and spears him, easily lifting Will onto Leon’s lap so Leon can torture Will's nipples while he fucks into him._

_All Will can think is, this is_ nothing _like being fucked by Agravaine. Evidently bookish men make the best lovers, as Will comes five times before Leon’s through with him; the most intense is during the mating bite, when it feels as though every bone in Will's body melts to liquid.  
_

_It touches Will’s heart that Leon turns his head, inviting Will to bite him, too._

_That night at the spring, Leon has to explain to Will that they’re true mates…Will should have known by the way Leon smelled to him, and how he just wanted to crawl inside Leon and never leave._

Merlin’s screams of terror jerk Will out of his memories.


	94. Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really feel badly for the mistakes make when writing so fast. You guys deserve more. I appreciate those who point out things and let me know the chapters so I can fix them.

“Merlin!” Will tries to awaken his friend, but he’s in a deep sleep, crying out hoarsely. “Merlin!” Finally, Will resorts to slapping Merlin and then throwing a glass of water in his face.

Merlin takes a breath, blinking and gasping for air, looking about the room. Will switches on the bedside lamp.

“Are you all right?” Will asks.

Merlin sits up in bed, pulling his knees to his chest. He shakes his head, taking a large breath.

“Not really, no.”

“Was the dream about us again?”

Merlin looks over at Will.

“I don’t think they’re about us anymore, Will.” He licks his dry lips. “I think they’re about when I was small.”

Will shifts to get more comfortable, his lower back hurting. “You mean in your home pack?” Merlin never talks about this, and Will is so curious.

Merlin nods. “I think my mind has mixed up images, and I thought the slaughter was here, but I think my dreams are memories of before,” he says quietly, looking at his knees.

“But Lance…” Will begins.

“Lance was absorbing my dream rather than the other way around,” Merlin explains. He shudders. Will’s quiet, hoping Merlin might choose to talk. It isn’t just his selfish curiosity that drives him to want to hear; Merlin needs to purge himself of these bottled up memories that torment him.

Finally, Merlin surprises Will by saying, “Do you remember those Prime Alphas in the cave? Well,” he amends, “I guess they weren’t the real Prime Alphas, but whatever Morgause was.”

Will nods.

“They had those long, slashing fingernails and odd wolf footprints.” Merlin swallows. “In my dream…my memories…the slashing…” tears form in his eyes. “That’s what killed off the members of my pack. I hid in the woods. I think I was already there for some reason.”

“Oh, Merlin,” Will breathes, eyes filling. “That’s terrible. Do you think they were there for the omegas?”

Merlin nods. “Yeah. I think so. It was a pack from Sola looking for some. We didn’t have many, and they were angry and killed everyone.”

“How did you survive? Was there no one else?”

Merlin thinks, brow furrowing. “I don’t know. I had help; I know I did. But I don’t remember.” He shakes his head in frustration.

A whimper from the next room gets Merlin out of bed. “I’ll nurse the twins in the guest room. You go to sleep.”

Will nods and turns out the light, rolling onto his side, facing the window. He thinks of Merlin being little and alone, going back to find his family and pack bloodied and decimated. It must have been a horribly traumatizing experience. Yet, except for his recent nightmares, Merlin seems a well-adjusted man.

Soon, Will’s eyelids grow heavy, and he drifts off to asleep.

He awakens to the dip of the mattress and a bare body pressing against his back, the definite form of a cock poking against his rump. For a moment, his sleep-addled mind thinks Leon’s come, and he pushes against it.

Will hears a sniff, and then it’s as though the person explodes from the bed. The light comes on, and Will squints, looking over his shoulder.

Arthur stands there, shock, anger, and mortification all playing over his face as he cups both hands over his huge erection.

“You’re not Merlin!” he accuses.

“I never said I was!” Will retorts.

“You’re in our bed!”

“You’re not supposed to be here!”

Merlin walks in sleepily, rubbing his eyes. “Hold it down, would you? I just got them…what the fuck? Arthur?” He takes in the sight of his nude mate with his stiffened cock, standing plastered to the wall as though blown there by a wet storm.

“Gaius tested us for the germ…” Arthur hastens to explain. "I got in bed thinking to snuggle up to you…”

“Oh, for the love of…” Merlin shakes his head.

Will climbs out of their bed. “I’ll just go back to the guest room, then.” He moves past them, shutting the door behind him.

Arthur immediately pushes Merlin up against it, kissing him fiercely until Merlin forgets what he was about to say.

“Don’t you ever do that to me again,” Arthur warns, yanking down Merlin’s pyjama pants and spinning him around.

Merlin’s too turned on to protest. He spreads his legs, offering his neck for Arthur to latch onto as he enters Merlin, thrusting hard, lifting Merlin’s feet clear off the floor. Merlin gasps and grunts, fingers reaching for the trim of the door and holding on. Arthur’s hands come around and move over Merlin’s body, enflaming him.

After a few more thrusts, Arthur withdraws and spins Merlin back around, kissing him roughly, passionately. Lifting him off his feet, Arthur enters Merlin again, pumping fast until he knots, bringing Merlin tumbling over the edge as Arthur's knot pushes past Merlin’s ultra-sensitive rim.

They stand there a moment, tied, Arthur’s knot smashing against Merlin’s prostate, making it difficult for either to think.

“I don’t ever want to find anyone in our bed except for you,” Arthur tells Merlin, kissing his cheeks and then his eyes.

Merlin can only nod, panting.

Somehow, Arthur gets them over to the mattress, where he lays Merlin down and fucks into him some more until another stream of cum trickles out of Merlin’s tired dick. Merlin squeezes Arthur’s waist with his legs. A look of sheer vulnerability and love that Merlin’s well familiar with washes over Arthur’s features as his knot breaks, releasing his seed inside Merlin’s body, and Merlin shudders, another orgasm slowly building and taking him over. He pulls Arthur down so he can kiss him again and again, loving the taste of Arthur’s tongue in his mouth.

That night Merlin fingers Arthur for a long time, using the thick oestrum from Merlin’s arse, loving the sounds Arthur makes when he does it. They fall asleep like that, with two of Merlin’s fingers crooked inside Arthur, not waking until sunlight pours into the room from the window and the children come piling onto their bed.

~~~

“Oh, gods…there’s hardly anyone here!” Mordred exclaims. He and Cenred have gone into the town for supplies, and the few people they see avoid them.

“The illness has taken them,” Cenred replies, loading their bags.

“Is there no one even working here?” Mordred asks, looking in the back of the store. “Where are the bodies?”

“They’ve been burned,” Cenred replies.

Mordred helps him load the bags. It feels creepy there with no one about, and he shivers. Cenred gives him an encouraging smile. When they’re through, they load the small wagon and manage to harness themselves to it before shifting. The Brighton brothers have left town, fleeing the virus, so now the wolves can’t use the horses.

When they get the supplies back to the ranch and put away, Cenred leads Mordred to a secluded area near the barns.

“What is it?” Mordred asks.

“I just want to ask you something in private,” Cenred tells him. His eyes are intense, and Mordred instinctively leans forward to listen.

“If you’re afraid, I’ll take you and our pups away from here,” Cenred tells him. “I have pack loyalty, but this isn’t my home pack…not really…and my real loyalty lies with you and our children. We will find somewhere to go where we’ll be safe. The choice is yours.” He raises his hand and lays the palm against Mordred’s cheek, and Mordred feels the intensity of his alpha’s emotions through their bond.

“I never felt like I belonged anywhere until I met you,” Cenred continues. “You’re everything to me, Mordred.”

Mordred smiles, turning to kiss Cenred’s palm. “I love you, Cen. Let’s stick it out with our friends, yeah? They’ve been good to us.”

Cenred nods. “Okay.” They walk hand-in-hand toward home.


	95. Fever at the Ranch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will have company for a few days, and may be sporadic in my updates. Just wanted to let you know.

It isn’t long before half the ranch is ill. Pete succumbs to the illness and dies, as do Donald’s parents, as well as Bronwyn and Odin’s only son.

Most of the wolves stay indoors and don’t mingle with one another, fearful of spreading the fever. No one is certain how it got into the ranch in the first place, although they suspect it was through contact from the town. There is a short, open-air funeral for the deceased, but the bodies are burned far from the ranch, and Bronwyn’s inconsolable sobbing chills every parent’s heart that night. Gwaine, Nim, and Phineas are particularly affected, remembering how it was when Pip’s remains were burned before burial.

“No doubt that these aliens—for lack of a better word—planted the germ, planning on decimating us,” Arthur tells Gaius. They meet in the open air, as they do several times every day.

“It won’t, though,” Gaius replies. “Thanks to Sigmund, Lance, and the others. Most are recovering, thank the gods and Father Wolf. How is Will, Arthur? He must be near his time, if not past it.”

Arthur bows his head and pinches his nose. Their guest is driving him crazy. Having another omega in the house isn’t easy on an alpha in the best of circumstances, and Will has an obnoxious mouth that is intensified a hundred fold by being overly-pregnant and missing his mate.

“We have got to get him back with Leon, Gaius,” Arthur tells him. “I can’t take much more of this. As for his physical state, I’d say he’s overly ripe.”

Gaius nods. “He needs Leon in more ways than one, then.” He sighs. “I’ll go speak with Leon. Perhaps at this point he should override Will and force him to submit.”

Arthur looks up from where he’s been staring pensively at the ground, eyes now eager. “That’s a marvelous idea, Gaius! You should do it right now.” He grabs the older man by the shoulders and turns him around, nudging him in the direction of Leon’s house.

~~~

Leon lies on the bed, eyes on the ceiling, but mind on years earlier.

_Will is lean, brown from the sun, and so freckled. Leon finds himself fascinated by those freckles._

_He’s just watched the boy give that dolt beta, Barry, a blow job just so he could escape the omega den and take a swim, and Leon’s still hard from it. It had only taken a matter of seconds, because Barry’s probably never had someone suck him off before, but the sight of Will on his knees had Leon’s hand on his own dick, squeezing it to keep from coming where he stood in the shadows, having just returned from the woods._

_Now he watches as Will stretches, hands running over his wiry chest. Leon can see the berry-brown nipples begging to be sucked. He wonders who’s been touching the orphan, taking advantage of him. Will spends too much time in the alpha den, and it makes Leon crazy. He wishes Will would come to him, but he can tell that the boy thinks him dull and bookish._

_Leon watches, mesmerized, as Will gives his fat half-hard cock a couple of pulls, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, moaning like a little boy. Lust washes over Leon, strong and pure, and he makes a move to get up, but Will dives into the water, swimming to the other side of the lake. When he pulls himself up on a rock on the far shore, Will rolls onto his stomach, giving Leon a prime view of his luscious, plump arse, and it’s too much. The wind blows Leon’s way, and the most delectable scent fills his nostrils. He lifts his nose and takes a deep breath, steps forward, and growls, a low, possessive growl._

**_Mine._ **

_The next couple of minutes seem to speed up. Will spots Leon and swims to shore as Leon’s mind assembles the fact that this boy, this fucking delicious boy that’s been driving him to the brink of madness for weeks now, is his **true mate**. Leon crouches, staring at Will intensely as the omega stands before him--body dripping water and face pugnacious yet somehow vulnerable—Leon barely able to keep it together long enough to let Will know what his intentions are._

_“I’m going to fuck you, mate you, and then you’ll be mine,” he manages to rasp out._

_And hell if the little wanker doesn’t answer, “Fuck that.”_

_Leon growls and in a flash has Will pinned to the ground, taking that obnoxious mouth and filling it with his tongue, tasting the sweet scent that’s been tormenting his nostrils. Leon can feel Will’s erection against his leg, and he pushes against it, electrified by the knowledge that Will wants him. He continues to relentlessly plunder the boy’s mouth until Will gasps for breath against Leon’s lips._

_“Get off me,” Will turns his face away, and Leon’s blood boils in his veins. He stands, sure that he sees disappointment flicker in Will’s eyes when he does so, and begins to untie the cloth he wore to protect himself when clearing away brambles in the woods. Will looks at Leon’s groin, licks his lips, and Leon’s dick jerks in eager readiness. He drops to his knees, kissing Will again, this time more slowly, drawing desperate, childishly ardent cries from the omega's mouth that soon have Leon leaking._

_“Let me go, or I’ll punch your lights out,” Will murmurs between kisses, and Leon laughs. The boy is delightfully contrary. He brushes a thumb over Will’s nipple, loving the way he shivers in reaction. Will balls his fists, rearing back as though to take a punch, but Leon easily blocks him, pinning his arms above his head and dipping to suck and nip at the brown, freckled skin of Will’s neck and chest. Will arches his back, making more of those vulnerable noises that soon have Leon humping Will’s leg like a school boy._

_Leon’s cock slides through something slick, and Leon realizes that Will’s arse is pouring oestrum. Leon sniffs, running his nose down Will’s stomach, pausing to lick and nip at his navel before moving to force his legs up so Leon can see the tight hole glistening with juices._

_Will moans as Leon sniffs again, drawn to the sweet scent, and swipes his tongue out. Will grunts softly—so innocently for that normally belligerent mouth---and Leon turns him onto his stomach, spreads his cheeks open, and licks again, and again, flicking and wiggling his tongue, quickly reducing the boy to a shuddering, sobbing mess._

_“Now I’m going to fuck you,” Leon finally states, breathing hard, face wet with Will’s delicious juices._

_“Go to hell,” Will answers over his shoulder, barely able to lift his head. Leon replies by inserting his tongue in Will’s quivering hole and wiggling it around until Will squirms and cries out, “Bastard, yes!”_

_Leon gets to his knees, grabs Will by the legs, and pulls him back onto his lap, easing him down onto his cock. It’s a tighter fit than he imagined it would be. Could the boy be a virgin? He loses the thought, distracted as Will yells, wiggling, impaled on Leon’s cock, sinking inch by inch. Leon shushes him, wrapping his arms around Will and holding him on his lap, stroking his chubby cock with one hand and rolling a nipple in the other, loving the feel of Will’s fleshy rump spread wide for him. Leon pumps up into Will, and Will whines, so submissive now, breathing in Leon’s scent, baring his neck for him. Leon licks the smooth, untouched skin there, tendon jerking inches from his nose…Leon’s canines lower….his dick throbbing inside the confines of Will’s body. Will breathes hard, trying to hold perfectly still as Leon positions his mouth and bites down, the unique taste of his omega’s blood inciting him to being pumping fast. Will yells, but he remains still in Leon’s jaws as he’s fucked, cum spurting from him at intervals, balls slapping Leon’s thighs, until he hangs like a rag doll in Leon’s arms._

_When Leon knots him, Will’s orgasm is so intense, the boy blacks out for a moment. Leon kisses him back to awareness, telling him that after this coupling, they will rut again with Will facing him._

_“You are my true mate, Will, and I want you to bite my neck, too. That way our partnership will be more equal. We will feel one another more deeply, and we will be bound together for all eternity.”_

_With these words, Leon can see he wins Will’s respect, and he’s glad he made the decision._

Leon is jolted out of his memories by his son’s voice.

“Dad,” Clyde says, “Gaius is here.”

“Oh,” Leon replies. “Okay, thanks.” He gets up from the chair, a little embarrassed by the huge hard-on in his trousers. As he passes Clyde, he notices his son’s weary eyes. “Clyde, are you all right?”

“Just a little tired,” Clyde answers. Leon reaches over and feels Clyde’s head.

It's burning with fever.


	96. The Little People

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I've had company, plus that "hate" comment on my paper legends yesterday kind of threw me. Thanks to those who cheered me up.

 

 

Will jerks from a fitful sleep with a throb of his mating bite. He sits up in bed, his abdomen stretched tight and itching. He rubs at it, peering around in the darkness, expecting for the briefest of moments to find Leon beside him in bed. When he only sees the rumpled sheets and pillows he’s been using to prop his swollen belly, an overwhelming sense of loneliness overwhelms him, and he takes a shaky breath, swinging his legs over the side of the mattress and standing up on the cold floor.

All around him, the house is quiet, except for Arthur’s occasional snores from the next room. Will grabs his loose pants from the nearby chair and leans against the bedframe, laboriously slipping them on one foot at a time and pulling the drawstring under his pregnant belly. Finding a pair of shoes, he slips them on and leaves the room, foregoing a shirt.

Something is very wrong; he knows it. He can feel his mate’s concern through their bond. Will stops in front of Merlin and Arthur’s closed bedroom door and thinks about tapping on it, but he knows Merlin will only stop him from going. He moves on, taking the flight of stairs as quickly as possible in his condition. His feet and back hurt. Halfway through the first floor hall, Will stops, leaning against the wall a moment to catch his breath, feeling a little dizzy, before continuing out the front door and into the cool night air.

Determined, he heads toward the southern end of the ranch and his home.

~~~

_Merlin walks deep into the forest, deeper than he’s ever been before by himself. The ground is dappled with sun and shade, and he looks about the foliage and scrub carefully for signs of movement. He shouldn’t be there, but his parents are sleeping and the creatures have called him._

_Gradually, he sees them. All around, they appear from beneath leaves, mushrooms, and brambles, and from out of holes in the trunks of trees, their almost translucent skin glittering in the sunlight. They aren’t bugs, although most are that tiny. Merlin knows he’s the only one who can see them; he learned that the hard way. His best friend, Chad, made fun of him for making up girly faeries, so Merlin never mentioned them again. But here they are—he really hadn’t imagined them before._

_As Merlin crouches down in the glade, knobby knees tucked beneath his chin, and the little beings stand staring up at him with sad, discerning eyes, the screaming begins--screaming so horrific that Merlin’s young brain blocks it out for many years to come._

_The little creatures race to show him the way to the caves where Merlin hides until it’s all over._

_And a day or two after Merlin’s young eyes take in the slaughter, the tiny creatures lead him to where the deer hunters can find him._

_At the orphanage, Merlin is one of three omega wolves, all of which conceal their wolf identity. Merlin might not have known to do this if it weren’t for Jude, a boy several years older than he, who takes Merlin under his wing. Jude is beta, but he knows about omegas and wolves in general. He and the other betas there don’t have any trouble concealing themselves from the humans, but the omegas find it more difficult during their adolescent pre-heats. Jude shows them how to conceal their oestrum with folded toilet paper and explains what will happen one day when their bodies are ready.  
_

_With funds provided by the city, the orphanage gets the boys ready for life, teaching them skills they’ll need in the work force. Jude is to learn economics, and bids Merlin goodbye, as the two have become close, in spite of their age difference._

_“I’ll be going to a neighboring city to school,” Jude tells him, ruffling Merlin’s hair as he’s done since the moment they met. Impulsively, Merlin flings his arms around Jude’s tall, wiry frame._

_“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Jude. I’ll miss you,” he whispers fiercely. Jude hugs him back._

_“Take care, Blue Eyes,” Jude answers._

_Two years later, Merlin is ready to go to school himself. He learns accounting and gets a place in a firm that allows him to rent a small flat._

_He lives in relative peace and comfort, occasionally visiting a place he knows where other omegas meet, sharing a hand job now and then, talking about how to avoid the rogue alphas in the city who search for them._

_Then one night Arthur follows Merlin home._

Merlin blinks, thinking he must be hallucinating. He hasn’t seen the creatures since he was three-years-old and has often thought he’d made them up. He looks over his shoulder toward the house where Arthur stands waiting for him. It’s late, and they both awoke to Em’s small hand shaking them awake and telling them that Uncle Will wasn’t in his bed. The moon shines above them over the trees, and Merlin has been distracted upon stepping outside the house by a noise… a once familiar cry in his ear that apparently Arthur hadn’t heard…

“Merlin!” Arthur calls to him. “What in the devil are you looking at? Are we going to look for Will or not?”

Merlin glances over at Arthur again and then down at the circle of magical creatures on the ground, all staring at him as though they want to impart something to him. He crouches down, just as he did when was a boy. For a moment, he expects to hear the screaming and a chill runs down Merlin’s spine.

“Merlin?” Arthur’s voice behind him makes Merlin jump.

“Arthur, do you see them?” Merlin asks. The tiny creatures shake their heads and disappear.

“See what?” Arthur crouches down beside him.

Merlin lets out a breath. “Shit.”

“Merlin?” Arthur’s staring at him, but Merlin gets to his feet.

“Let’s go…Will must have gone home.” Merlin strides toward the southern end of the ranch, Arthur hurrying after him.

“What the fuck was that about?” Arthur demands, grabbing his arm.

“I’ll tell you later,” Merlin says, hurrying his steps.

“You’ll tell me now,” Arthur orders, but doesn’t stop walking.

The necessity to obey his alpha is strong. Merlin licks his lips. “It’s a long story, Arthur, and not an easy one for me to tell. Please…let me wait until we get back home.”

Arthur gives a curt nod just as they spot something on the ground up ahead. Merlin lets out a small cry and rushes forward.

“Will!” Merlin falls to his knees beside the curled figure. “Are you all right?”

“I…I think the pups are coming,” Will’s face screws up in pain.

“Come on, let’s get him home,” Arthur takes Will under one arm. Merlin grabs Will under the other arm and hefts him to his feet.

“Ours, or his?” he asks Arthur.

“I have to get to Leon…something’s wrong,” Will grunts, trying to double over.

Arthur looks over at Merlin, and suddenly Merlin realizes that Arthur knows something.

“I think it’s better if we go back to our house,” Arthur states, directing them in that direction.

Will literally digs his heels into the ground. “No! I need to get home—Something’s wrong there; I can feel Leon’s worry.” Will begins breathing hard, sweat breaking out on his forehead.

“Will, I know what’s wrong,” Arthur admits. “Leon didn’t want to worry you, and I know he doesn’t want you to come home now.”

“What is it?” Will’s eyes are twin pools of fear.

Arthur pauses a moment before replying. “Clyde has the fever, Will. He came down with it this afternoon.”

“What? Oh, gods! My baby!” Will begins to shake. “I have to go to him!”

“Merlin, we have to get him back to our house.”

Merlin isn’t sure what to do. He understands Will’s need to get to his sick child, but Will is obviously close to delivering his pups. Will suddenly sags to the ground again, and Arthur and Merlin are unable to get him back on his feet.

“I’ll get Leon,” Arthur finally says seconds before Leon appears from out of the darkness, having sensed Will’s distress.


	97. Help from an Unexpected Source

 

 

Leon immediately swoops Will up in his arms, carrying him toward the Alpha’s house. Merlin and Arthur can only follow.

“I’ll get Gaius,” Arthur says, splitting off from the group as they near the physician’s cottage. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Once inside, Merlin leads Leon to a back bedroom where he deposits his mate on the bed.

“How’s Clyde?” Will asks, eyes clouded with pain as Merlin helps Leon get him comfortable.

“He’s doing all right. Holding on,” Leon answers. “You mind telling me what kind of impetuous move had you outside in the middle of the night, alone, trying to give birth to our children on the ground?”

Will attempts a smile. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.” He groans as an intense pain rolls over him.

“Maybe you should shift now,” Merlin suggests.

“No, I have questions for Leon,” Will argues, looking to his mate. “Who’s with Clyde?”

“George and Lance,” Leon answers, smoothing the hair from Will’s forehead. “Shh, now, don’t worry. He was doing fine when I left. I was taking a nap beside his bed when suddenly I knew you were in trouble.”

“…Wasn’t,” Will denies on a long moan, clutching at his stomach.

“Right,” Leon murmurs, taking the cool cloth Merlin hands him and running it over Will’s face, neck, and chest.

“I…was on my way to you,” Will groans. “Woke up knowing you needed me.”

Leon’s face softens. “You only just now figured that out?” He takes Will’s hand and squeezes it.

“Shift, Will,” Merlin tells him firmly. “Believe me, you don’t want to find yourself bottle feeding for the next few weeks.”

Will’s eyes meet Leon’s before he shifts into wolf form, curling up and panting on the bed, tongue lolling out of his mouth. Leon shifts also, and lies beside him.

Arthur returns with Gaius in tow, and Merlin heads for the kitchen to make tea. Arthur soon appears behind him.

“Spill,” he orders, “and I don’t mean the tea."

They sit down at the table, and when Merlin finishes his story, Arthur’s drink sits still untouched before him.

“Magical creatures?” he asks a little too dubiously for Merlin’s liking.

“You don’t believe me,” Merlin states.

“Oh, I believe you,” Arthur hastens to assure him. “Of course I do…it’s just, well.”

Merlin stares, and Arthur looks away.

“I’ve never even spoken about magic in my family, Merlin. My father would’ve sooner died than even pretend to entertain such a notion.”

“For the longest time I thought I’d imagined them,” Merlin admits, stirring his tea. “But I know I saw them, Arthur. And they’re here for a reason.” He raises his eyes, and Arthur turns back to meet his gaze. “To warn us.”

“Of the Annunaki?” Arthur asks.

“I think so,” Merlin replies. He shivers. “I feel them. I think they’re here, waiting.”

“For what?” Arthur demands impatiently, although he knows Merlin doesn’t have the answers he seeks. “For us to fight? Because we’re ready.” He makes as though to stand, and Merlin covers Arthur’s hand with his, stopping him.

“For us to die off. They think we’ll all die of the wolf fever, the rest of us running away, like the humans did. But we aren’t, because for some reason we’re supposed to persevere. I think it’s time we confronted them, Arthur.”

Arthur looks at Merlin as though he’s gone mad.

“And you got all this…how? From mind-melding with some tiny faeries in the wood?” He shakes his head. “Merlin, you aren’t making any sense. These…these aliens have come to kill us all off one way or another. They aren’t going to want to talk to us. If they really are nearby, we have to be ready to attack.”

Although affronted by Arthur’s attitude, Merlin reins in his irritation. “How do you know that? Running at them with weapons drawn is only going to start a war.”

Arthur rubs his face with his hands before pinching his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. “Merlin.” His voice is tired.

“Arthur, we’ve been spinning our wheels, here.” Merlin hits the table with the flat of his hand, spilling tea. What he has to say may be unusual, but that doesn’t mean it should be dismissed.  
  
“We need to do something. I’m going back out where I saw the…well, faeries. I don’t know if that’s what they are…I’ve never seen any wings on them. They don’t fly, they disappear. But whatever they are, they once helped me out during the most difficult time in my life, and they’re back again. Maybe they’ll show me where the Annunaki are.” Merlin can feel his face flush with anger and clenches his fists at his sides.

“You aren’t going alone.” Arthur stands.

“I didn’t think so,” Merlin smiles wryly as he heads out the door.

Back in the woods near the house, Merlin looks about. “I wonder if they’ll come with you here,” he says to Arthur. “Go stand off a ways.”

Arthur grudgingly backs up a few feet, but his eyes remain pinned on Merlin.

Merlin thinks about calling out for the little people, but somehow he doesn’t think that will work. Instead he concentrates very hard on hailing them in his mind until, finally, a few appear out from under some leaves. Crouching, Merlin looks at them, asking them questions without speaking. Their answers are like a sharp wind in his brain, blocking out everything else around him.

Merlin doesn’t know how long he’s there ‘talking’ with them—it could be minutes or hours; it’s as though he’s in a trance. When it breaks, Merlin falls from his haunches to his back and suddenly finds himself staring up at the sky. The next thing he knows, Arthur’s face blocks it, features full of concern.

“Merlin? Are you all right?”

“Yes,” Merlin answers, struggling to sit up.

“Did you see them?”

“Didn’t you?” Merlin asks, confused.

“No, I didn’t see anything. You could have been looking at ants for all I could tell,” Arthur replies, pulling Merlin to his feet and holding him close within the circle of his arms. Merlin takes a moment to sink into his mate, rubbing his nose against Arthur’s neck and breathing in his comforting scent.

“They told me they’re related to the faeries, for one,” Merlin says. “And a few other things besides. But the important thing is, they told me where the Annunaki are. And they told me it’s very important to go to them without weapons.”

Arthur doesn’t look convinced. “I need to call a council meeting.”

Merlin shakes his head. “They aren’t going to agree, Arthur.”

Arthur’s eyes bore into Merlin’s. “You are asking me to do something crazy on the basis of what some tiny creatures told you.”

Merlin knows how it sounds, but he also knows it’s what has to be done. “It’s the right thing to do, Arthur. It’s the only thing to do. If we don’t talk to them, they may attack once they see the fever isn’t decimating us like they expected it to.”

“What do you think talking to them is going to do?” Arthur asks. “They may just kill us and be done with it.”

“We are the rightful wolves to live here on earth. The Vim…that’s the name of the faerie folk…confirmed it. They said that we’ve only to convince the Annunaki of it, and they’ll go back underground.”

Arthur shakes his head. “Oh, is that all? And why would they go so easily?”

“Because it’s the correct order of things. The older the creation, the more they understand that. We can reason with them,” Merlin tells him. “The Vim say I have something that will convince them that I’m to be trusted.”

“What?” Arthur asks.

“I don’t know. Something of my mother’s. I need to go look among my things—I barely took anything with me when I left with you that day, so it shouldn’t be that hard to figure out.” He takes Arthur’s hand. “Let’s go inside and see.”

Will’s whimpers can be heard as soon as they enter the door.

“How’s it going?” Merlin asks Collum.

“Three pups have been born,” Collum answers. “Gaius says there’s at least three more. They’re coming slowly.”

Merlin checks in on Will before heading to his closet and his boxes of things. He has very few items belonging to his parents—only what he pulled from their bedroom the day he found their bodies. One is his mother’s pendant, another is her prayer book, and a third is his father’s watch, which Merlin used to wear all the time in the city but now rarely looks at.

“The pendant or the prayer book?” Merlin wonders, setting them both on the bed between himself and Arthur.

“The pendant has an odd stone in it,” Arthur picks it up and fingers it. Red and lustrous. “Is that a bible?”

“No, some prayers, but I don’t know the language,” Merlin answers, flipping through the book.

“And those are the only two things you have of your mother’s?” Arthur asks, and Merlin nods.

“I guess you’ll take them both, then,” Arthur says.

“Then we’ll go?” Merlin asks hopefully.

“I’m thinking about it, Merlin. Give me a little time,” Arthur answers.

“Okay. Just don’t take too long,” Merlin warns. “I don’t think we have a lot of time left.”


	98. Erynn

 

“This is ridiculous,” Trevor complains, pushing Erynn away. “You’re almost finished with your heat again, and you still aren’t with pups. I’m going to have to take another mate.”

Erynn blanches. She’d been afraid this would happen. When Arthur didn’t give Ros to Trevor, she’d let her guard down, thinking perhaps Trevor wouldn’t seek another mate on his own and that, perhaps, a miracle would happen and she’d become pregnant.

But she still isn’t. She wonders if it really could be Trevor who’s the sterile one. Her mind wanders over the alphas in the pack, considering who might be able to give her pups that she could pass off as her mate’s. Was the idea crazy? Would it backfire on her? If Trevor ever suspected, he would kill her. Literally. Erynn isn’t sure if she has the courage to go through with it anyway. Still, she waits until Trevor falls asleep and slips out of the house. Where would she find an alpha willing to sleep with her and not tell anyone?

Biting her lip, she heads for her sister’s house, peeking in the window to see if she can catch a moment with Nim alone. She sees Phineas and Gwaine on the sofa, Gwaine rubbing Phineas’ enormous belly. Nim must be with Mary and Morpheus in the nursery, Erynn thinks. She goes to that window and taps on the pane. Presently, Nim opens it.

“Erynn! What in the world are you doing?”

“Nim, Trevor’s talking about getting another mate! My heat’s almost over…it’s now or never!”

Nim frowns. “Come inside.”

Erynn shakes her head. “No! I don’t want anyone else to know I’m out this late by myself.”

“Erynn, we need to tell Gwaine. I’m going to ask him to help you,” Nim tells her.

“What?” Erynn’s shocked. “You’d ask your true mate to impregnate me?” Erynn shakes her head. “No, you can’t. Forget it. I won’t let you. Think of someone else.”

“It’s the only way!” Nim argues. “We can’t trust anyone else.”

Erynn bites her lip. “What about Agravaine? He, Brionna, and Ronan…they’re all pretty kinky, I’ve heard.”

“And that’s exactly why you can’t go to them,” Nim says. “Come inside, right now.”

Erynn sighs and goes to the front door.

Phineas and Gwaine are surprised to see Erynn there so late, but they smile and greet her.

“Sorry if I don’t get up,” Phinny tells her. “I’m not moving so well these days.”

“I heard Will’s having his pups tonight,” Erynn says.

“That’s good,” Gwaine replies. “I think he’s past due. Does Leon know?”

Erynn nods. “Trevor says he saw Leon carrying Will toward the Alpha’s house earlier tonight.”

“Maybe they’ll reconcile.” Nim looks at the floor. “Gwaine…alpha. I have a request.”

Gwaine looks at her expectantly.

“I want you to bed my sister.”

No one speaks for long moments. Finally Gwaine says, “You know I can’t do that, Nim. I don’t know why you’re asking, but Erynn belongs to another alpha. Even if I consented, he's smell me all over her, no matter how many times she washed.”

Nim hadn't thought of that. She looks to Erynn.

"What's this all about?" Gwaine asks.

"We wanted to see if you could impregnate her. Trevor blames Erynn for her not getting pregnant, and he’s talking about taking another mate. But we think it’s Trevor who can’t sire children.”

“So?” Gwaine asks, puzzled. "He'll figure that out eventually when the new mate doesn't get with pups."

“She doesn’t want him to bring another mate home.”

Everyone looks at Erynn.

“Why not?” Phineas asks Erynn.

“I don’t want to be second best,” Erynn replies, looking away. “We aren’t true mates, and he might…love the other omega more.”

Phineas snorts. “That’s just silly. Nim and Gwaine _are_ true mates, but I don’t feel any less loved.”

“That’s because you aren’t,” Gwaine smiles at Phineas, leaning in to kiss him.

“But you can give Gwaine pups, and evidently I can’t,” Erynn points out to Phineas. "And..." she looks at Nim. "You don't know how the first mate feels about it."

Phineas frowns. "Nim? Have you been unhappy since I came to live here?"

Nim looks apalled. "No! Of course not. I love you, Phinny, and I've told Erynn that. She's just adamant about this, and I want to help her. I want her to be happy."

“Erynn, you just said a moment ago you think you can get pregnant,” Gwaine takes Erynn's hand. “You will make a big mistake if you get yourself pregnant with another man’s children. If Trevor found out it would alienate him forever.” He turns to Nim. “And you. I know you love your sister, but I can’t believe you would even think of going this far!”

Nim hangs her head, ashamed. “I’m sorry. But I don’t want Erynn going to a strange alpha. Or worse…one of those kinky ones like Agravaine.”

“She isn’t going to, because she isn’t going to do this,” Gwaine tells them all. “I won’t allow it. Erynn, if you make a move in that direction, I’ll tell Trevor. I swear it, I will. This is for your own good—if your alpha sees fit to take another mate, then that’s what he should do. And if that mate won’t give him pups, then perhaps he’ll realize the problem lies with him and do something about it. Perhaps see Gaius, or maybe Lance can lay hands on him.”

Erynn feels sick. She hangs her head.

Phineas gives her an encouraging smile. “Having multiple mates can be a wonderful thing. Open yourself up to it, Erynn. Just try.”

“They’re right,” Nim tells her sister. “I was wrong to help you. Erynn, go home and tell Trevor you support him.”

Erynn wipes her eyes and stands. She nods. Phineas gets to his feet. “I’ll walk you.” They leave the house, and when they reach Erynn’s front door, Erynn thanks Phineas.

Trevor’s awake when she enters the bedroom.

“Where’ve you been?” he asks, part worried, part angry.

“I went to see Nim. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to wake you.”

Trevor moves over in the bed, giving her room to get in beside him. He kisses her, and again Erynn feels jealousy rise up at the thought of sharing him. She runs her fingers through his dark hair, her heat rising. He grunts, and as he takes her, she prays to the gods again for a child.

The next day when Trevor doesn't scent pregnancy on Erynn, he announces that he’s going to talk to Merlin about mating an omega.

“I don’t have anyone in particular in mind, so perhaps the Vixen can help me choose. Would you like to come along? We’re talking about your mate, too.”

Erynn wants to refuse, but she remembers Gwaine’s words and nods instead. Trevor seems both surprised and pleased, and they head that way.

The Alpha’s house is noisy. So noisy, that no one notices their knock or even when they walk inside. Children run everywhere; not only the Alpha’s children, but Leon’s children, and Erynn thinks she also recognizes Cenred’s children. The sound of pups whimpering meets her ears.

Merlin appears out of a back bedroom, a baby in each arm, looking a bit frenzied with a nappy strewn over one of his shoulders.

“Oh! Hi. When did you two get here?”

“Sorry to just walk in, Vixen, but no one answered our knock.” Trevor stares at the squealing children running everywhere.

Merlin flashes his engaging grin as he heads for a bassinet in the corner. “Not surprising in the least. Too much going on today.” He lovingly sets the babies inside the bassinet and straightens up. “Will’s just finished having seven pups. Everyone’s been busy helping, and the children are a little unsupervised at the moment. Is there something I can do for you?”

“Seven? Wow.” Erynn swallows. And she can’t seem to have even one.

“Erynn has not been able to get with pups. I want to take a second omega mate, and I wonder if you can help me choose,” Trevor tells Merlin.

“Hm,” Merlin presses his lips together in thought. “Male or female?”

Erynn squeezes Trevor’s hand without realizing what she’s doing. He looks at her. “Male?” she suggests timidly.

He shrugs and looks back at Merlin.

“Stephen is a possibility,” Merlin says. “As is Carl. They’re both in the omega den. Why don’t we go talk to them?”

Trevor agrees, and Erynn follows him and the Vixen out the back door and across the lawn to the house at the edge of the woods.

The den is darkened and warm inside, filled with the noises of chatting, laughing, and arousal. Erynn feels comfortable, wishing she could take some time to join her fellow omegas to cuddle for a while. She senses the testosterone that Trevor immediately begins putting out and shivers, the last remnants of her heat rising in a heady wave that slickens her between her legs.

There’s a general stirring within the house at the presence of an alpha going into rut. Erynn glances down and sees Trevor’s erection pressing against the zip of his trousers.

“Stephen! Carl!” Merlin calls, and presently the two young, male omegas appear from a side room.

“Trevor is looking for a second mate,” Merlin tells them.

Stephen is tall, thin, and light-skinned. Carl, bulky and dark. Trevor looks them both over, and Erynn finds herself hoping he’ll choose Stephen. She doesn’t much like the looks of Carl, but she can see that there’s something about the shorter, meatier man that Trevor favours. He seems to like the idea of dominating a broad, muscular man.

“I’d like to see them both naked,” Trevor says, and the two men obediently strip.

Again, Erynn prefers Stephen’s long lines to Carl’s rippling muscles, but Trevor’s eyes are drawn to the latter.

In the end, it’s no surprise to Erynn when they return home with Carl.

Initially, she watches the mating with disinterest, only glad that Trevor heeded her request at choosing a man over a woman; It makes things easier for her as far as jealously goes. As Trevor kisses Carl, tongues dueling, hands running over muscled chests and sharp hip bones, Erynn’s surprised to feel a spark of arousal deep in her loins, particularly when Trevor grasps at Carl’s buttocks, pulling him flush against him.

When Trevor finally turns Carl around and enters him, Erynn pants with need. Trevor growls, biting Carl’s bared neck and shaking him between his teeth, drawing blood and marking him as his mate.

“Come here,” Trevor orders Erynn. “Rub your scent on him.”

She does so, and with Trevor still deep inside Carl, Carl lifts Erynn’s skirt and buries his face between her legs. She cries out at the sensation of the strange man’s tongue lapping at her, falling forward a little over his back. Trevor unbuttons her shirt so he can play with her breasts, tugging at her nipples as he knots Carl.

It’s an odd sensation falling asleep that night cradled between two men’s bodies, but Erynn thinks that maybe she can grow accustomed to it.


	99. Visitors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I worked on my October theme fic and got it posted.

 

“You’re the picture of domesticity,” Leon says, watching Will nurse the pups. It’s much easier talking to Will when he’s in wolf form—he can’t talk back. Higgy sits petting the tiny pups.

“Why are there so many, Daddy?” she asks.

“Because Daddy’s a big, strong, virile wolf, sweetheart,” Leon answers with pride. He sees Will’s eyeroll and sniffs. “Daddy sired more pups than the Alpha. That makes Daddy special.”

Higgy grins and nods. “What are we naming them?”

“We’ll have to give it some thought.”

“This time there are more girls than boys,” Higgy says, cocking her head to the side. “I like that. I’m tired of brothers.” Her three brothers can be heard in the nursery playing loudly. “May I name one of them?”

“We’ll talk about it,” Leon promises.

Satisfied, Higgy jumps up and runs into the other room to see Clyde, whose fever has finally broken and is on the mend.

George comes to gather the sleeping, satiated pups into a basket, and Will shifts into human form.

“Gaius says there’ve been no new cases of the fever,” he gets up and stretches, going to the door and looking out. “I’m going to the river for a swim.” He looks over his shoulder invitingly. “Coming?”

Leon rises from his chair and follows, swallowing the admonition for Will to put some clothes on. He decides he’d rather watch his freckled arse sway all the way to the river bank.

“I don’t like fighting with you,” Will tells Leon when they reach the water and he stands looking down into its running depths.

“I don’t like it either,” Leon agrees. “You know I don’t.”

“You hurt my feelings with what you said.”

“Will,” Leon’s words get caught in his throat. Just then, with the sun shining down on his mate’s wren-brown hair, Leon’s heart is so full, he feels it might stop beating altogether. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean what I said.”

Will turns and smiles the boyish smile that Leon adores. He opens his arms and Will falls into them.

~~~

“Merlin, did you dream last night?” Lance asks.

Merlin nods. “ About the Anunnaki.”

“I did, too.” Lance is spreading food out on the table behind the main house for the warriors to eat. With the visiting packs, there are many to feed. “But there was no blood this time. Only talk.” He turns to Merlin, eyes questioning. “What does it mean?”

“I want Arthur and I to go talk to them. I’m trying to convince him to do it, but he’s taking his own sweet time. Since we shared the dream, will you tell him about it? Maybe it will help persuade him that it doesn’t have to end in blood bath. I am convinced that telling them that we are the dominant, rightful race is the only way to go. We must reason with them before they decide to attack.”

Lance looks a little unsure about facing the Alpha about something so important alone, but he agrees.

There’s some commotion in the glade, and Allison comes to tell Merlin that both Phineas and Donald have gone to the omega den to give birth. “Mordred’s gone with them, and so has Bronwyn.”

Merlin nods. “More pups,” he turns to Lance. “A regular population explosion.”

“Another prophecy from the book coming true,” Lance says. “Go on and check on them. I’ll find Arthur. I think he’s working in the barn with Simon.”

When Merlin makes it to the den, Phineas has already had his three male pups, and Gwaine and Nim sit watching him nurse them while Bronwyn helps clean up.

Donald is in the throes of pain, and Percy sits holding his hand.

“You might feel better if you shift,” Mordred tells him.

“Go ahead, luv,” Percy tells Donald, kissing his head. Donald shifts, panting hard.

“Shouldn’t be long now,” Merlin urges, taking a seat. Percy shifts, too, offering comfort and heat at Donald’s back. Presently, Donald grunts and pushes out first one pup, then another, whimpering excitedly.

“Two girls!” Mordred tells them, offering them over to Donald to lick clean. Percy leans over Donald’s back and noses at the girl pups, and Merlin smiles. Now the only omega in the pack who is still carrying pups is Ros. Merlin’s mood sours when he thinks of Ros, the interfering, conniving omega who has caused Merlin so much trouble in the past. However, it’s Merlin’s duty as pack Vixen to keep up with all of the omegas, and he really owes him a visit.

“Mordred, I’m heading to Sionn’s to check on Ros and then I’ve got to get home to nurse the twins. Can you and Bronwyn handle things here?”

Mordred makes a face at Ros’s name, but nods his head. “Have fun.”

Ros rarely eats with the rest of the pack at noon day, so Merlin’s pretty sure he’ll find him at home. He knocks on the door, and it isn’t long before Ros answers it. When he sees Merlin there, he looks a little surprised.

“I just wanted to see how you’re doing,” Merlin tells him, trying to keep his features neutral. “You should be giving birth in a few weeks, yeah?”

Ros nods and stands back. “Would you like to come in? I’ve just made some tea.”

Merlin considers refusing, but he steps inside, a little curious. The house is tidy, and the smell of baking bread comes from the kitchen.

Ros gives Merlin a cup, and they sit down in the small living room.

“Are things going well with Sionn?” Merlin asks politely.

“As well as they can be. He is good to me,” Ros answers.

Merlin nods, unsure of what to say. He knows he’s fortunate as an omega to have found his true mate. He has no idea what it would be like to be mated to someone because he had to be. He takes another sip of the hot tea, wishing he hadn’t come in.

“Are you excited for the arrival of your pups?” he tries after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

“Not particularly,” Ros answers. “I hope there aren’t too many, and I hope they don’t have Uallus’ creepy eyes.”

While the first bit is harsh, Merlin can’t quite blame Ros for the second sentiment.

“Well,” he finally says, giving up and putting down his cup and standing. “Let me know if you need anything. You may want to have your pups in the omega den, it being your first litter. It’s much nicer surrounded by omegas.”

“I’m not that popular there,” Ros states.

“You have your special friends, though,” Merlin says.

“A few. I thought Donald was one of them, but then I learned he was only spying on me.”

Ros’s attitude begins to wear on Merlin’s nerves. “You say that as though it’s my fault,” he says. “When you’re the one who’s caused all the trouble for yourself by going after my mate. I’m not sure why I’m the one standing here feeling all uncomfortable when you’re the one in the wrong.”

Still seated and holding his tea cup, Ros looks up at Merlin, nonplussed. “Perhaps because you know you’re overly possessive of the Alpha. An Alpha such as Arthur should have many mates. He should be siring dozens of children. You’re keeping him all to yourself, and it’s selfish. Look at all the wolves with multiple mates, yet the most eligible alpha of them all only has one omega, as if there’s something so completely special about you. So you’re true mates, so what? Arthur can have other mates as well.”

The venom in Ros’ words, along with the complete lack of respect and obvious strong self-assurance that he is in the right and Merlin is in the wrong infuriates Merlin. If Ros weren’t pregnant, Merlin would fly into him then and there. He narrows his eyes.

“I would tread carefully if I were you, Ros,” he tells the other omega. “If you think I have pull over Arthur now, you only know the half of it.”

He turns and walks out, limbs trembling with ire.

~~~

Will sits backward on Leon’s cock, riding him slowly, loving the feel of his mate deep inside of him. He knows Leon enjoys watching Will’s arse move up and down on his dick and that this is one of his favourite positions because of it. Will closes his eyes, enjoying the sensations rolling over him. He’s missed this—both fucking Leon and being lean and without the baby bulge. He undulates, drawing a moan and a sigh from his mate.

Parting his eyes, Will looks out over the wide expanse of land and trees before him, the river at his back, loud on its journey west. Suddenly, he spots something in the foliage, a movement. He pauses, but Leon, oblivious, keeps fucking into him, hands tight on Will’s hips, feet planting on the ground beneath them.

“Leon…” Will warns, but Leon misunderstands.

“Go ahead, I’m right behind you.” He fucks Will faster, and Will’s overcome.

A moment later, Will recovers and looks about. This time he sees nothing and wonders if he imagined all those white eyes upon them. Doubting it, he turns to Leon and tells him what he saw.


	100. Eyes

 

 

When Merlin reaches his house, Will and Leon are there.

“What’s going on?” Merlin asks, still shaking from his confrontation with Ros. “And Will, where are your clothes?”

“I saw them…the alien weirdos,” Will tells him. “I didn’t have time to get clothes.”

“What? Where?” Merlin demands, looking toward Arthur, who’s talking to Sid outside the back door.

“In the woods, near the river,” Will says. “They were watching me and Leon fuck, the perverts! I say we get an army together and go slaughter them!”

“No!” Merlin cries. “Arthur, I’m going to get my mother’s book and pendant. We have to go talk to them.” Merlin heads upstairs and a moment later, he hears Arthur’s footsteps pounding up behind him.

“Merlin, we could be walking into a trap.”

“They could have killed us already if they wanted, they’re so close,” Merlin points out, grabbing the two items and heading around Arthur. Arthur catches his arm.

“Merlin, no.”

Merlin stares at Arthur. “I’m going with or without you, Arthur. That’s how much I believe in this.”

Arthur’s face hardens. “I’m your alpha, and you’ll do as I say.”

Although determined, Merlin feels his knees weaken. He can’t resist his alpha’s command; it’s both physically and psychologically impossible. Arthur growls, and Merlin sags back against the wall, baring his neck, which Arthur bites roughly, drawing blood. Merlin’s breathing speeds up, and suddenly Arthur’s slamming the bedroom door and he’s got Merlin's chest pressed against it, Arthur's hand down the front of Merlin's trousers, tugging at his cock.

Merlin gasps. “Arthur, please…”

“You’ll do as I say,” Arthur tells him in his ear.

“Yes. Yes, but…”

“There’re no buts about it, Merlin. I’m your alpha and the pack Alpha, and my word is law where you’re concerned.”

Merlin can feel Arthur’s erection pressed against his arse, smell the heady testosterone in the air. He feels his body responding: nipples pebbling; dick hardening within Arthur’s firm grasp; heart galloping; arse leaking. Arthur wrestles Merlin’s pants down, cock poking him.

“Say it, Merlin.”

“You’re…my alpha. The Alpha. W-what you say goes.”

“That’s right. And I’m going to fuck you now,” he growls, and Merlin moans, stepping out of his trousers as Arthur takes him by force. It’s hard and rough, and Merlin cries out several times, uncaring who can hear. Arthur strokes Merlin as he fucks him, making him repeat over and over again that he’s Merlin’s alpha as he brings Merlin apart piece by piece.

Arthur takes Merlin’s neck between his teeth and shakes it before biting down harder, keeping Merlin still as he knots, slipping past the rim, drawing a long, hard orgasm from Merlin’s body that leaves Merlin breathless and sobbing.

When Arthur releases, Merlin comes again, and lies weak and trembling on the floor after Arthur withdraws.

“I’m sorry if I was too rough, but you must remember your place, Merlin,” Arthur tells him softly, rubbing his cheek with a finger. “I love you. You’re my true mate, and I will keep you safe. I will not have you running off. If I decide that we’ll talk to these aliens, we’ll talk to them my way.” He rises, tying his trousers, and helps Merlin to stand. They walk downstairs together.

~~~

Audrey and Sully walk hand-in-hand to Audrey’s parents’ house. It’s a beautiful afternoon and, to Audrey, everything smells like cupcake. She loves being mated. The night before, Sully showed her that it’s possible for her to be fucked by him. His cock is very wide, but it fits into her vagina, and after the first uncomfortable try, it began to feel good. Her clitoris, which is so much larger than average because she’s an alpha female and it has the ability to grow into a penis, is so sensitive to every brush of Sully’s body…she came three times before they were finished.

“Clyde?” she calls when they enter the house. Her brother comes out of the bedroom, still weak from his illness, but looking better.

“Where are our dads?” Audrey asks.

Clyde shrugs. “Dunno. George made some dinner. Want some?”

“We’d better, since Aud burned ours,” Sully says, and Audrey elbows him in the ribs.

“Oh! Look at our little siblings! Gosh, Da sure had a fuck-ton this time, didn’t he?” Audrey bends over the basket, admiring the pups.

“Somebody needs to get fixed and stop having babies.” Clyde bites into an apple, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, Clyde, I heard Vince really wants to mate soon.” Sully looks into the pot on the stove while Audrey gets them some plates.

“I’m not interested,” Clydes says. “I’m waiting for my true mate.”

“Aw!” Audrey ruffles her brother’s hair. “That’s so cute!”

“Quit!” Clyde pushes her away.

The front door opens, and Will and Leon step into the house.

“Well, if it isn’t our long lost daughter,” Leon hugs Audrey and kisses the top of her head.

“Gosh, Da, you’re naked,” Audrey says, eyes brushing over Will's back as he heads for the bedroom.

“I know, I know. I’m getting some clothes.” When he returns, they have the table set, and everyone sits down to eat.

“The babies are sure cute,” Audrey comments. “What are their names?”

“We’re too exhausted to think about it.” Leon rubs his eyes.

“Why don’t you pick a theme?” Audrey suggests, thinking of Sully's interest in flowers. “Maybe they can all have a flower name.”

“Gods, no!” Clyde says. “Don’t listen to her! What about the two boys?”

“There are masculine flower names,” Audrey argues, buttering her bread.

“Such as?”

“Um…Protea?”

Clyde scowls. “That’s no boy’s name.”

“I know!” Audrey perks up. “Aster!”

“Hm,” Will looks at Leon. “That’s not bad.”

Leon makes a face.

“And Musas!” Audrey says. “And the girls are easy.  Lily, Daisy, Bell, Dalia, and Rose.”

“Musas?” Leon asks Will, who shrugs.

“I guess that’s fine,” Leon sighs, and Audrey claps her hands.

Soon George brings the little kids in from outside where he’s been playing ball with them and washes their hands.

“Their plates are ready,” Will tells him.

“Yum, stew!” Vick enthusiastically climbs into a chair.

“Yuck,” John holds his nose.

“Eat it anyway,” Will instructs. “It’s cool, no need to blow on it like that.” John’s cheeks look like bellows, and spit’s flying everywhere.

Asher grabs a chunk from his bowl with his fingers.

“Spoon, young man,” Leon tells him, and Higgy helpfully hands her brother a spoon.

George sits down with them, but after dinner he goes out to spend some time with Allison, whom he’s gotten very close to lately.

Audrey and Sully help Will get the kids to bed.

As they walk home after dark, Sully asks, “When do you want to have kids, Aud?”

“I don’t know,” she answers. “I guess we’ll have them when we have them. I hope we don’t have seven at once, though.”

“Me, too,” Sully agrees.

“So my parents’ brood didn’t turn you against it?” Audrey asks.

“Nope. I think they’re cute.”

Audrey grins. They stop under a tree and kiss.

“Sully,” Audrey says suddenly. “Do you see something way over there in the trees? Past the fence line.”

Sully turns to look. It’s dark, and the large shadow of a barred owl passes over them.

“I don’t see anything.”

Audrey blinks. “Maybe I imagined it.” She shudders. “Let’s get home.” They hurry away.


	101. The Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning for a slightly gruesome part.

Merlin stares at Arthur, trying not to look like he wants to charge out the door right now, even though he does. He tries to keep his eyes from the window.

He wonders if they’re out there now, watching. Readying themselves for attack. He suppresses a shudder.

Arthur’s talking to Gwaine, arguing over the entire situation. Gwaine, bless him, is championing Merlin’s side, even though he doesn’t quite understand all of Merlin’s reasons for wanting to negotiate. Merlin just wants to hug him for that, but he knows that Arthur could easily send Merlin out of the room altogether, so he’s trying to be quiet and just listen. He also knows that in Arthur’s current high-alpha state of mind, Merlin touching another alpha would not be a good idea. He suddenly realizes that he hasn’t been listening at all, and that Gwaine’s asked him a question.

“What?”

“I said, do you think it matters if I went with you?”

Merlin sighs, just a small one. “I guess not. I’m just really concerned about every moment we wait.”

Arthur stands. “Let’s go, then,” he says resignedly.

“Seriously?” Merlin looks up.

“Well, it’s either that or wait with the troops for an attack. They’re prepared, just in case, and I’ve notified Leon to put everyone on high alert. Audrey thinks she’s seen someone out there, too. Let’s go…let’s see if we can find them.”

Merlin has the little prayer book in his pocket and the pendant around his neck. He’s thought about it over and over again, and they’re the only two things he has of his mother’s; he’s sure of it. The Vim definitely said, “You have something of your mother’s that will convince them.”

On their way across the darkened glade that once separated the two ranches, Gwaine, two steps ahead of Arthur, stops, holding up his hand.

“Who’s there?” he asks gruffly.

“’Tis Sionn.”

Gwaine relaxes, and Arthur barks, “Show yourself.”

Sionn steps out of the darkness.

“Sionn, what are you doing out here? You should be with the other warriors,” Arthur says irritably.

“Alpha, my mate has disappeared.” Sionn lowers his head submissively.

Arthur growls. “Disappeared from your home?”

“Yes, Alpha. Ros was there for dinner and after, but now he’s gone. He is heavy with pups, so I went to check on him an hour ago. I haven’t been able to locate him. Our front door was left open.”

Arthur looks to Gwaine and Merlin. Merlin warns Arthur with his eyes---it would not be a good idea for Sionn to come with them.

“Go back to the barracks, Sionn. We will locate your mate.”

Sionn is hesitant, but he obeys.

“What do you think about that?” Gwaine asks when they’re alone again.

“Ros is a troublemaker,” Arthur says.

“I went to see him this afternoon,” Merlin tells them, and Arthur looks to him, surprised.

“I have to check on the pregnant omegas,” Merlin reminds his mate. “They’re my responsibility.”

Arthur nods. “Did he give you a clue as to why he might disappear like this?”

“No,” Merlin shakes his head. “But don’t forget what he carries--pups of the Anunnaki.”

“Gods.” Gwaine shakes his head. “Do you think they took him?”

“Perhaps,” Merlin answers.

They reach the tree line.

“The trees have a thousand eyes,” Gwaine whispers, and Arthur takes a breath.

“How do we summon them?”

“I don’t have the slightest notion,” Merlin crouches down, hoping to see some Vim.

“What’s he doing?” Merlin hears Gwaine ask Arthur.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“They’re not here,” Merlin sighs.

“Who?” Gwaine asks.

“Nevermind,” Merlin stands, looking around. He steps into the woods, and Arthur is immediately at his side.

A low whistle comes from somewhere to their right.

“That’s no bird I’ve ever heard,” Gwaine remains close behind them.

Merlin clutches the pendant around his neck, the stone cutting into his palm, eyes raking the dense, dark forest around them.

“Fuck this,” Gwaine says after another tense moment.

“Shh.” Arthur stops.

“Merlin!” His name is spoken out of nowhere, and the odd, echoing tone causes Merlin to jump. Arthur grabs hold of Merlin’s arm.

“Who is it?” Arthur begins to growl from deep in his chest.

“Merlin, Sharer of Dreams, Friend to the Vim, come closer,” the voice says.

“Where are you?” Merlin asks, looking around. 

“Here, Merlin, past the large oak.” A sudden beam of light illuminates a tall oak tree up ahead. “Come alone.”

“Hell, no.” Arthur's hand tightens on Merlin’s arm.

“Arthur’s my true mate, and I won’t come without him,” Merlin says loudly. “We’re bonded,” he adds, hoping that will make a difference.

There’s a moment’s silence. Finally the voice, echoing eerily throughout the woods, replies, “Leave the bearded one where he is.”

Gwaine snorts.

As he and Arthur step closer to the tree, Merlin pulls the little prayer book from his pocket, the soft leather of its cover oddly comforting against Merlin’s fingers. Arthur’s hand moves down Merlin’s left arm and to grasp Merlin's firmly, their bodies touching as they walk.

Just past the oak, it’s as though they move into another world. Merlin hears Arthur’s quick intake of breath beside him. It’s bright and barren and completely pristine, with an odd odor hanging in the air.

“Where are you?” Merlin calls, and a figure suddenly appears before them. He is large, like Uallus, with paper-white skin and the same egg-white eyes that appear to have a touch of blue beneath them, as though one could scalpel through the filmy caul and reveal their true depth. He radiates a strange, orange light.

“Identify yourself,” Arthur orders, bristling.

“I am Nirol,” the being answers, not looking at Arthur. He steps toward Merlin, staring into his eyes. “Yes, you are the One.”

“What?” Merlin asks, then remembers. “Oh.” He holds up the dangling pendant. “This was my mother’s. And this.” He shows the prayer book. Nirol continues staring.

“You have her eyes.”

Merlin blinks. “I don’t understand.”

“You are from magical descent. It is the only reason I stand talking to you now.”

Merlin swallows. “I’m not sure…what you mean, exactly. But…listen. We’re meant to be here. This is our land. Our place on earth. We know you’re here to take over, but you aren’t meant to. I’m certain of it. You need to stop and go back where you came from.”

Merlin’s shaking, and Arthur squeezes his hand.

Nirol  just stares, so Merlin rushes on. “We were in trouble before, with the dearth of omegas and all. But things have been getting better. We’re getting stronger. We have plenty of omegas now, and lots of pups. We can heal ourselves…the fever you sent didn’t decimate us. The Father Wolf made sure that the prophecy came true…” he realizes he’s babbling and stops abruptly, swallowing hard.

After what seems like forever, Nirol nods. “It has been said that the Pendragons must either rise or fall.” For the first time, the alien’s weird eyes turn to Arthur. “Your father was a ruthless man.”

Arthur doesn’t move or speak. Merlin wonders about Uther Pendragon and decides to learn more about him…if they live.

“It is true,” Nirol says after studying Arthur. “You will rule, and my people will go back to the center of the earth. For now. But we will leave our mark. Already we have taken that which is ours.”

He stands aside, and it’s as if a veil opens. Merlin sees Ros, terror-filled eyes half-opened, life slowly seeping out of them. His abdomen is split, and several pale pups squirm within it, breathing new life.

“It wasn’t necessary to kill him!” Arthur shouts.

Nirol only stares. “We will return some day,” he finally says as the light world around them begins to undulate and recede.

Merlin’s gaze is on the pups, their small, whitish eyes opening as they leave the cavity of Ros’s belly. Just before they disappear altogether in the swirling miasma that’s fading into the earth, Merlin catches sight of the runt of the litter, eyes blinking owlishly Merlin’s way, one brown, one blue, and his blood runs cold in his veins.


	102. No Respite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be wrapping up this very soon. There will be a third part, hopefully not as drawn-out as this one is. Thanks to all who have stuck with me through this! Some may want to get out after this one ends, and I can understand that. No hard feelings. There are just a couple more things I want to do, and I really need a fresh manuscript to do them.<3

 

Upon their return to the ranch, adrenalin still runs rampant through Arthur’s veins, making him feel as though he could move mountains if he had to. Seeing that freakish being in the forest, eyes trained on Merlin so much of the time, had been a nightmare, and every muscle in Arthur’s body remained tensed through it all, ready to burst into action if need be. Once they’d passed the oak, he’d been sure that Gwaine could no longer be of any help to them and that Arthur would have to act quickly if the Anunnaki made a move to hurt Merlin. Only now, passing through the gates of the ranch, has he allowed himself to begin to relax, but his relief is immediately dispelled by Gaius’ agitated call.

 “Arthur! There you are. Something odd has happened.”

“What is it?” Arthur asks, casting a brief glance at Merlin and Gwaine, who look as clueless as he feels.

“The book of prophesy.” Gaius is out of breath, in spite of his de-aging. “I couldn’t sleep and sat looking through it. I’ve been studying what the elders translated and have managed to work through a bit more myself.”

“Yes?” Arthur’s losing patience. It’s been a long night, and although Ros has never been his favourite person, seeing him dying in that manner had been terrible, to say the least.

They begin walking toward Gaius’ house, which is the closest. Gaius opens the door for them to enter, the smell of herbal tea greeting them, and Burt brings a tray into the living area from the kitchen.

“The pages speak of ‘the sins of the father,’“ Gaius tells them when they’re seated. “Also of something called ‘magicals’ and…” here Gaius swallows hard and looks away.

“What is it, Gaius?” Merlin asks.

Arthur leans forward, ready to bark an order if the physician doesn’t get to the point soon.

Gaius sighs. “I’m not an expert, as you well know, Alpha. This…this could be wrong. I hesitate to say it. But Burt’s been looking at it too…” He looks to his mate for confirmation and support. Burt nods, rises from his chair, and goes to the other room, returning with the large tome. He opens it to a marked place and begins to read, slowly and uncertainly.

“ _And it shall be decided, the fate of the forest lands. Those left will not go unscathed, but a famine shall smite the wolf territories, bringing with it starvation for the multitude that has blessed the chosen pack. Unless the sins of the father can be rectified, many shall die, beginning with the weakest. If the sun Alpha is too proud, he will doom them all, but if he bends to the wisdom of his bonded, he may save them all. Only the Sharer of Dreams will have the answer, but only the Chosen Leader can rectify the loss and change the tide.”_

Burt looks up from the book.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Gwaine asks, frowning. “The Sharer of Dreams is Merlin, right? Have you dreamed anything recently, Merlin? How could we have famine with this harvest?”

“My only dreams have been about negotiating with the Anunnaki,” Merlin answers. “And Lance has shared them with me.”

Arthur shakes his head, feeling numb. “Can we not have just a moment’s respite from threat?” he asks tiredly, rubbing his hand over his face. He feels Merlin’s fingers run gently through his hair, and then his voice sounds softly in Arthur’s ear.

“Let’s go home to bed. Nothing can be decided tonight.”

Arthur looks at Gaius. "We'll have a talk soon...about what you and Burt remember about my father." He stands. "Come, Merlin."

Once at home and under the soft duvet, knot tied inside Merlin, Merlin’s long leg thrown over Arthur’s bent knee, Arthur kisses Merlin’s neck and asks, “What do you think it all means?”

“I don’t know, really,” Merlin stares out the window of their bedroom at the moon. “Nirol told us he’d leave his mark, didn’t he? I guess this is it.”

Arthur pumps a few times, knot pressing and bringing Merlin to orgasm, his lean body shuddering in Arthur’s arms as Arthur nibbles on Merlin’s ear. He listens to Merlin panting in the darkness, palms pressed against Merlin’s fast-beating heart.

“I failed Ros,” Arthur says after a moment, shame and worry keeping him from relaxing and releasing his knot just yet.

“No, you didn’t,” Merlin tells him. “What could you have done? You didn’t know.”

“I should have known, though. He had those pups in him, and I should have thought…”

“He was my responsibility,” Merlin cuts in. “ _I_ should have thought. I was too full of jealousy to see. Ros still wanted you; even today he spoke of it, goading me to anger and idle threats. He knew how to push all my buttons.” Merlin swallows. “Arthur, one of the pups…its eyes.”

“I saw,” Arthur answers, kissing Merlin’s cheek.

They don’t say anything else for a while. Arthur runs gentle fingers over Merlin’s belly, delighting in how it quivers at the touch, then up over his ribs to his nipples, circling them. Arthur feels his knot throb tight within its heated nest, hears Merlin gasp and then moan sweetly, head bending back to catch Arthur’s lips in a kiss. As Merlin’s tongue meets his, Arthur’s knot breaks, a rush of intense pleasure washing over him. Merlin pushes his arse back, and Arthur sees stars for a long, glorious moment.

Afterward, lying together, Arthur presses kisses into Merlin’s sweat-slick shoulders, murmuring his love and adoration to his omega. He doesn’t know when he falls asleep, but he awakens to shouts of alarm from outside in the direction of the barns.

“Fire! Fire!”


	103. Hard Times Ahead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with "pig Latin," but it's something we do in childhood--at least in the U.S.--where you take off the first consonant of the word and stick it at the end of the word, adding "ay" to it.  
> So the word "pig" becomes "igpay." Get it? It's like a kids' game.

_Before:_

_Uther rolls over, slipping out of Agravaine and reaching for his cigarettes. He lights one, blowing smoke into the air. Every so often, he enjoys dominating his alphas in the bedroom. They don’t like it, but it keeps them in line. His favourite is Cas, but he’s busy tonight with family; it’s his son Leon’s birthday, and he and Marisa are having a family dinner. Uther almost went over and demanded to see him anyway, but he prefers to keep Cas on his good side, at least marginally. He’s an excellent second, and a leader never knows when he’ll need that. Besides, Uther is leaving for one of his raids in a few hours and doesn’t need Cas’ calm temperament and peaceful vibes around him now. Agravaine is fine for the occasion, with his mewling cries for more and his penchant for being tied to the bed posts._

_“You’ll take me with you, won’t you?” Agravaine asks, turning to look at Uther with his cow eyes that Uther despises. He smokes and stares at the ceiling._

_“I suppose,” Uther finally answers after making Agravaine wait._

_“Which pack will we raid?”_

_“The Tates,” Uther replies, spilling his ashes onto the floor beside the bed. He crosses his feet, flexing long toes. He thinks of his flaxen-haired son in his bed at home in Uther’s den, already beautiful and regal. He will make a perfect pack leader someday. Idly, Uther pulls on his long cock with his left hand. Agravaine watches with hungry eyes, always eager to please his Alpha. This is another reason why Uther prefers Cas—he struggles and looks at Uther with disdainful wariness rather than this fawning adulation._

_“I can’t wait to watch you,” Agravaine whispers reverently. “I love watching you fuck all the omegas one by one while we hold their men and make them watch.”_

_Uther grunts, cock growing hard. He watches as Agravaine bends to take it into his mouth._

_~~~_

When the fires in the two main barns are put out, there’s nothing left of the grain supply.

“Fuck!” Arthur yells, face red beneath black soot.

“What are we going to do?” Simon asks, wiping sweat from his brow. “Our reserves in the smaller barn won’t last us long.”

“We have meat stored,” Lance replies. “I’ll go take inventory.”

The men head toward the main house, where Allison, Sid, and some others are bringing out soap and rags for the men who fought the fires to wash up.

“Earc and Mithian returned from their scouting expedition earlier today,” Cenred tells Arthur. “They said that, although there are no humans within a hundred miles of here, the virus didn’t affect them any farther than that. People in the far cities don’t even know about it, although the story has spread to wolves everywhere. It seems to be general knowledge that the great Pendragon pack has been under attack.”

Arthur nods, exhausted both mentally and physically. It’s been a long morning. A sudden, eerie, creaking sound followed by a crash and shouts halt the men in their tracks, and Arthur, Cenred, Simon, and Leon turn as one and take off back in the direction from which they just came.

“What happened?” Arthur demands when they reach the back barn, which stood as a skeleton only moments before but now lay in a steaming pile of ashes. Gwaine and Percy are scrambling through burning debris with gloved hands.

“It fell!” Percy states the obvious. “Agraivane and Sionn were inside!”

Arthur pulls a pair of heavy gloves from his pocket and begins helping, but the debris is too vast and heavy.

“There’s no way they could have survived it,” Cenred states, looking at the ton of smoldering wood.

“We’ll need more hands,” Arthur says.

It’s dusk before they find the bodies.

~~~

“Lance! Wake up,” Simon shakes his mate’s shoulder.

Lance moans and rolls over into Simon’s arms, opening his eyes to meet the bottle green depths, now questioning and raw.

“Lance, who’s Jude?”

Lance blinks. Simon doesn’t look particularly happy with him at the moment.

“What?” he rubs his eyes.

“You were calling out the name ‘Jude’ in your sleep,” Simon tells him. “Who is Jude?”

“Uh…I don’t know. I was dreaming.”

“About?”

“About a man called Jude.” Lance isn’t trying to be difficult, but he only just woke up. “A wolf.”

Simon sits up in bed, back stiff, hair on the nape of his neck rising. “I see.”

Lance struggles into a seated position. “Come on, Simon. I don’t know why I was having the dream, or even who this Jude fellow is. I can’t exactly help what I dream.”

“You said his name several times,” Simon growls, and Lance shivers.

“It was a dream.”

“You’re mine,” Simon reminds him, turning to look at Lance.

“I know that!”

Simon advances on Lance, pushing him down into the mattress and covering him with his body, kissing him passionately. Lance forgets about his dream for the time being.

~~~

Merlin dishes out breakfast for the children, a little surprised to find Lance at the back door.

“Lance!” Merlin greets him, smiling. “Come in. Want some oatmeal?” He gestures to an empty seat beside Em, who is making several separate piles of his food on his plate.

“They’re mountains!” Em proclaims proudly. He places a strip of bacon between them. “This is the train track.”

“Nice,” Lance smiles, ruffling Em’s dark curls. “I’ve eaten, Merlin. I really need to speak to the Alpha.”

“He’s in the shower,” Merlin tells Lance, setting a cup of tea in front of his friend. “Something wrong?”

Lance glances at the children. “Well…It’s the, um, _eat-may_. I checked it again, and though it was fine day before yesterday, today much of it is full of _orms-way_.”

“What?” Merlin asks, alarmed. “How could that happen?”

“I don’t know!” Lance says. “It’s never happened before! I got Sid in there to look, too. Definitely…orms-way.”

“What’s ormsway, Uncle Lance?” Hunith asks, putting down her spoon and standing up in her chair.

“Hunith, sit down, please,” Merlin tells her. “And never mind, Uncle Lance is speaking pig Latin. If you’re finished eating, go play in the nursery.”

Hunith makes a face. “Finished, Stacy?” She says to her sister. “Let’s go play dolls.”

Anastasia eagerly drops her spoon into her bowl and leaves the table, running after Hunith. Ella and Igraine watch them go.

Arthur Jr. hangs his spoon on his nose. “Look!”

Arthur strides into the room, freshly dressed, damp hair slicked back from his face. “Artie, don’t play with your eating utensils.”

“Dad! Uncle Lance speaks pig!” Artie cries, obediently putting his spoon back in his bowl.

Arthur looks at Lance. “What?”

“Pig Latin,” Lance corrects. “I was just telling Merlin there are suddenly ormsway in the eatmay supply.”

Arthur frowns, working this out in his head. “Gods! Ew! How bad?”

“Bad,” Lance answers.

“I’ll go have a look at it,” Arthur replies, heading for the door.

“What about breakfast?” Merlin asks.

“I just lost my appetite,” Arthur replies.

After he leaves, Lance sips his tea thoughtfully. “Merlin, do you happen to know anyone named Jude?”

Merlin pauses wiping up Igraine’s mess of juice and oatmeal. “Why do you ask that?”

“You do, don’t you?”

Merlin nods. “I used to.”

“I’ve been having these dreams about a guy named Jude. So much so that Simon’s jealous.”

Merlin takes in a deep breath. “I’ve been having them, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case that wasn't clear, "worms in the meat supply."


	104. What Must Be Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter of The Heart of the Wolf. Thank you for reading along. <3

“I didn’t realize the dreams were important,” Merlin tells Lance. “I mean, Jude was this guy I went to school with. He helped me out, but I haven’t seen him since. I have no idea why I’ve been dreaming about him.”

“Seems that since I’m sharing the dreams, he must be important to our predicament here. Pretty soon, we aren’t going to have enough to eat. It’s like the Anunnaki blighted us before they left. Burt says our fields are an odd orange colour.”

“In retribution,” Merlin says. “I guess. They said they’d leave their mark, and they’ve done it, all right.” Merlin sighs. “I wish they would have just left us alone. Lance, what do you know about Uther?”

“Only that he ruled the pack with an iron fist,” Lance replies. “Arthur and I were friends when we were young, but he hung out more with other alphas. I don’t think he paid a lot of attention to what went on with his father, you know, except the training end of it. Uther always had Arthur in tip-top physical shape. Gwaine trained with him a lot. So did Leon. Arthur’s nothing like his father, from what I can tell. Uther seemed utterly unapproachable, and what he said was law—no negotiating or democratic hearings. I sometimes heard my parents talking about pack business, and Da never wanted to talk things out with Uther. Said it was pointless—like talking to a wall.”

Merlin nods, thinking about what Gaius had told him and Arthur the day before---that Uther slept with many wolves, although he never publicly mated them. That Arthur’s mother always knew it, and that Gaius believes she cut him off sexually after Arthur was born, which is why they never had any more children together. Arthur had been shocked and upset, Merlin could tell. Merlin keeps this to himself, not wanting to air Arthur’s family’s dirty laundry to Lance.

“What happened to your parents, Lance?” he asks instead.

Lance rubs his hand over his face, looking out the window. “My Da never came back from one of Uther’s raids on another pack. My mum died years later with wolf fever.”

“Did you have any other siblings?” Merlin asks.

“I had an older brother, but he ran away years before. He was kind of wild. Uther had me in training to be a guard, so I was busy all the time, and Arthur and Gwaine felt like brothers to me.” Lance leans forward, elbows on knees. “Tell me about your dreams of Jude. We need to compare them.”

After discussing them, they find that they’ve both had seemingly innocuous dreams about him, but from Lance’s description, Merlin has no doubt that Lance is dreaming about the young wolf Merlin knew from his childhood in the city orphanage.

“So you think the Father Wolf gives us these shared dreams to help us?” Merlin asks, and Lance nods. “He has so far.”

“So finding Jude might help us in this instance.” Merlin shakes his head. “The last I saw of Jude, he was heading to university to study economics. I’ve thought of him sometimes. He was very good to me.”

Lance nods. “Maybe we’ll dream something that will help us find him. He really might hold the key to getting through this, and then maybe…just maybe we can get back to normal.”

“It had better be soon,” Merlin says.

Merlin and Lance decide to sleep together, hoping to make the dreams stronger. They take their nursing babies to the omega den with them.

Arthur meets with Cenred, Gwaine, Leon, Earc, and Percy, discussing the best way to stretch out the food supply.

“We have a huge problem in the fact that none of the cattle or horses will come near us,” Leon says. “Making money is going to be tough this winter, and now we don’t have a town nearby to purchase food. We can always shift and kill the cattle if it comes to that, but that will only last so long.”

“If we’re to keep the ranch going, we need human help,” Arthur replies. “Ever since the Brightons left, we’ve been in need. I don’t think they’re coming back.”

“Mithian knows a few humans,” Earc tells him. “She says they’ve moved out of the town and into the wilderness since the virus came.”

“Do they know we’re wolves?” Arthur narrows his eyes.

“No,” Earc says. “She wouldn’t betray us like that. But if she could feel them out…see if they’re trustworthy.”

“I don’t know,” Arthur replies. “My father told me never to trust humans. He forbade us to deal with them.”

“Your father wasn’t always right, Arthur,” Leon states, an edge to his voice, and Arthur turns to him.

“I’m sure he wasn’t, but he kept us all alive for years, Leon. You’re here today because of him.”

“I think we’re in this predicament today because of him,” Leon corrects.

“Stop,” Gwaine interrupts when Arthur snarls. “Fighting among ourselves won’t help. We’re all worried about our families. Let’s go home for now and think things through.”

Mordred meets Cenred outside the council meeting and walks back home with him.

“Mordred,” Cenred says before they go in. “I want to say one more time…I’ll take you and the children away from here, if that’s what you want. You’re my top priority.”

Mordred studies his mate’s face. “Is that what you want?” he asks.

“I only want you safe and happy. That’s all.”

Mordred pulls Cenred in for a kiss. “I need to nurse the girls. Then let’s go to bed. I know you, Cenred-- you don’t really want to abandon our friends. You’re just scared.”

Cenred growls, and Mordred laughs. “Okay, poor choice of words. You’re worried about me and the kids. But we’ll be okay.” He takes Cenred’s hand and leads him inside.

It’s very late when Arthur goes to the omega den to check on Merlin. He’s helped Collum and Sigmund to get all the children to sleep, and he misses his mate. He finds Simon snoring on the couch, SJ in a basket on the floor. Peeking in one of the back rooms, Arthur sees Merlin lying spooned with Lance, their heads touching, the basket with Matthew and Michael curled asleep in it nearby. Arthur studies Merlin’s face, slack and innocent in slumber. Arthur would do anything to keep Merlin and his children safe. But how will he keep them safe from threatening starvation? With a sigh, Arthur strips off his clothes and slides in behind Merlin, wrapping his arms around him. He cannot sleep without his mate beside him.

Sometime deep in the night, Merlin awakens panting. He sits up, looking over at Lance, whose eyes are open, too. Arthur lies sleeping on Merlin’s other side, lips parted and breathing slow and even.

“He’s in Crescent City,” Merlin says quietly, and Lance nods agreement. “I’m going to have to go there to find him.”

Lance presses his lips together. “I also dreamed of …a split.”

Merlin nods. “Some will have to go with the packs that came to help us. It’s the only way they can survive until we get Jude to help us. It makes sense. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it.”

“You can’t go to the city alone.”

“Of course not. Arthur will go with me, but…” and here Merlin takes a shaky breath. “I don’t know how long it will take to find Jude. I’ll have to wean the babies and leave the children with Collum and Sigmund. We may have to take a few others…Arthur and I will talk about it.”

~~~  
In the end, several families decide to move into the two packs that came to help the Pendragon pack during their time of need, the Munsons and the Gibsons. Mostly it’s new couples just starting out, including Eve and Egan, who choose to go with the Munson pack, as do Trevor, Erynn, and Carl, much to Nim’s dismay at losing her sister again. Carl has just discovered he’s with pups, which has much to do with their decision to go. Blar recently found his true mate in the Gibson pack and happily gets ready to leave with him, prompting his parents to decide that they will go, too.

This brings the question of whether or not Sully and Audrey will join them.

“Over my dead body!” Will shouts when he hears about it. “My baby is not leaving the pack!”

“Will, Audrey will be safer with the Gibson pack. They’ll have plenty to eat,” Leon points out. “We could send Clyde with them. It doesn’t have to be permanent.  You know that Arthur would like us to go with them to the city, so it’s not like we’ll be here anyway.”

Will is on the verge of tears, and he won’t have that. He stomps off into the bedroom and begins to clean.

“Will,” Leon says from the doorway a moment later.

“If they go, they won’t come back,” Will says, sweeping furiously. Leon sneezes.

“Of course they will.”

Will stops, lips trembling. “But what if they don’t?”

Leon steps into the room and puts his arms around his mate. “They will. You’ll see.” He kisses Will’s head. “Maybe we should send the older children with them, too. George and Allison are going to have it rough bottle feeding the seven pups as it is.” He takes Will’s chin in his hands. “Or we can stay here with them. Arthur made it clear that we don’t have to go to the city with them.”

Will is torn. He doesn’t want to leave his babies, but he feels an uncontrollable pull to accompany Merlin and the others to the city to find this Jude person. Cenred and Mordred have already agreed to go. Will’s never lived in a city, and this will be his only chance. He also just knows deep down that he’s supposed to do it. That Merlin _needs_ him to go, and that Will’s pups are depending on him doing it.

 

“All right,” Will finally agrees, burying his face in Leon’s neck. “Make the arrangements.”

It’s a bright and sunny winter morning when the three couples set off on the long trip to Crescent City, leaving those they love behind. The visiting packs departed the week before with their new members, leaving the ranch feeling half-empty. Families consolidate in houses to keep one another company and help out. Gilli and Daegal have volunteered to look after Mordred and Cendred’s children while they are away.

The six wolves know they will have to pose as humans and blend seamlessly into their world or risk persecution or death, and it’s Merlin’s responsibility as the only wolf having lived among humans to try to prepare them while on the trip.

It’s only been a few years, but it seems like a lifetime to Merlin since he left city life to live with Arthur in pack Pendragon. Now the fate of their pack lies within his hands and he doesn’t know if he’s capable of the task. What if he can’t find Jude? What if Jude really doesn’t have the answers? Arthur made sure that their diminished pack has enough food to last the remainder of the winter, but if their group doesn’t return by spring with an answer for the blight, Merlin doesn’t know what will happen. The more he’s thought about it, the more he reckons that this is not just a retribution for wrongs done by Uther Pendragon, but the final test of the Anunnaki of their worthiness; if they can survive this, they are truly fit to rule the wolves on earth.

Either way, there’s no question of what must be done, and there’s no turning back now.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See [here](https://rebeccajamesgayromance.wordpress.com/) for my original gay romance stories.


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